RST A destination Management Company

This blue marlin fishing competition is sponsored by the Club Deportivo Del Oeste & by the P.R. Tourism Company, and will be taking place off of the southwestern coastal town of Cabo Rojo.

The senior’s golf tournament, to be held at the Westin Rio Mar Country Club, attracts participants from all over the world (15 countries), and is sponsored by the Puerto Rico Golf Association

Puerto Rico was selected this year to host the World Amateur Team Championships. This competition, which will be held at the Westin Rio Mar Beach Resort, will coincide with the 50^th Anniversary of the Puerto Rico Golf Association (PRGA).

Rico Suntours

25th Anniversary…

RECEIVING THE NEW GENERATION

Renovation of what is known now as Wyndham Old San Juan Hotel began in June 2004, and hopes to be finished by 2005 with its new name Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel.

Caguas Hampton Inn will become Caguas Real Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Casino & Country Club by October of 2004.

The newly renovated Holiday Inn San Juan, formerly known as the Carib-Inn, will open its doors sometime in September 2004.

The condo-hotel project known as Casa Bonita Resort Villas, in Culebra PR, should be opening its doors soon.

The San Juan Marriott Hotel will be renovating its room inventory & meeting space staring next year (2006).

Punta Maracayo is the first hotel developed by a municipality and is expected to open this week in Hatillo, PR.

Last week the new hotel at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport was inaugurated as a Best Western property.

v New America Alliance; this group celebrated their 2004 Spring Conference & Philanthropy Awards with us this past summer. We assisted in the implementation of their conference logistics and as they said, “contributed to the overall success of the event”. They had a pleasurable time while visiting our island.

v Sweet 15 Celebration; a group of 182 young girls from Costa Rica & Nicaragua in celebration of their Sweet 15 (the equivalent of a Sweet 16). They had a blast while going on tours such as The Fort of San Cristobal in Old San Juan, and shopping in Plaza Las Americas, the largest shopping center in the Caribbean.

v Rums of Puerto Rico; there were many contests held in different parts of the country (U.S.) for the Rum Capital of the World Tour allowing this selected group to come to Puerto Rico and have an absolutely marvelous time, while being transferred to and from major league baseball games & going on tours. The group was very appreciative of our services and attentiveness during their stay in Puerto Rico!

The Puerto Rico Convention Center, which hopes to open in late 2005, “making Puerto Rico the meeting hub of the Americas”, will be without a doubt “the largest convention center in the Caribbean and the most technologically advanced throughout both the Caribbean and Latin America”.

Not only will this be a Convention Center, it is also proposed to be a Convention Center District. As part of the first residential project, there is to be a luxury condominium complex with 114 units with restaurants and stores on the ground floor. There are to be cinemas, specialty stores, and entertainment venues, amongst others to be developed in this district. The new Convention Center District will also be home to a Sheraton Hotel.

The New Coliseum in Hato Rey (the “gold mine” of Puerto Rico) can hold up to 18,500 seated people. It cost approximately $252.6 million, according to the Caribbean Business. The coliseum has 34 bathrooms, 30 concessions, a first aid center, ample dressing rooms for the artists and/or sportsmen/women. Every aspect of the new coliseum is regulated by the NBA standards. Its first activity is posted to be held this up coming Saturday and will be a Salsa concert. There’s expected to be approximately 10,000 spots for parking, all in the immediate (walking distance) surrounding areas.

There’s a new airline in Puerto Rico called Línea Aérea Puertorriqueña (LAP), which translates into English as “Puerto Rican Airline”. This new airline was founded by Luis A. Pérez, who has had more that twenty (20) years of experience in the aviation industry as a pilot for various airlines as well as proprietor for various others dedicated to commercial and postal air services (air cargo).

Pérez hopes to start offering flights from the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport to Miami and New York in December, although the exact date is not yet available. They also hope to expand their flights to other cities within North America and the Caribbean.

According to local newspaper, El Nuevo Dia, “the rates will start from $200 to and from Miami and $250 to and from New York”, and they will be using Jet Boeing 727 airplanes that fit up to 170 passengers.

According to the Caribbean Business, the Ponce Hilton is expected to open a new 100 room executive tower, as well as their Costa Caribe Golf & Country Club will be inaugurating a $10 million clubhouse and will be staring a 2^nd construction phase on its villas. The new executive tower is to target the corporate market by offering their guests drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and breakfast at check-in, amongst other amenities.

Airport Shoppes & Hotels (ASH) bought the Caguas Hampton Inn for $24 million, and is expected to create approximately 112 direct jobs in the area. The hotel, as mentioned above, will be renamed: Caguas Real Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Casino & Country Club. It’s expected to have a soft opening by October of 2004. According to the Caribbean Business, Tavales said that “with the acquisition of the Hampton Inn, ASH becomes one the biggest hotel operators on the island”.

Under its fourth construction phase, the Fajardo Inn will include eight more guest rooms, a playground, a gym, miniature golf, additional space for conventions & meetings, a new pool & beach pool, and basketball & tennis courts. The project is expected to be done by the end of this year (2004). As it seems, the hotel has been successful as it has maintained a 75% occupancy rate throughout its seven years in operation. According to Caribbean Business, the owner, Amrud, says that the “Inn has filled a large gap by being a moderately priced hotel in the region”. Although challenging days are ahead. The closing of Roosevelt Roads will have them changing marketing strategies to keep their business running.

This has been a huge concern for the past couple of years now: that the internet may end-up replacing travel agents. However, according to Caribbean Business, despite the internet’s popularity travel agents “are here to stay”. Statistics show that approximately “85%” of airline tickets “sold in Puerto Rico go through travel agents”. And, although this is a good thing, it is said that travel agents must not “ignore the fact that Internet travel” is a “growing segment”. What they are encouraged to do is to use the internet in order to better service their clients. It is also said that sometime in the near future instead of booking our trips/travels in a .com we might be able to them in a .travels as well. That way the consumer knows that those web addresses ending in .travels will be companies that meet established standards.

The renovation of the historically renowned Coamo Hot Springs by the P.R. Tourism Co. Began this past August of 2004. Its hopes are that it is transformed into a wellness center for both residents and tourists alike. It will also be asking the federal government to have the property be included in the National Register for Historic Places. They plan to have three thermal water pools and convert the other two into lukewarm water pools. It’s also planned to have two parking lots, one for the physically challenged), drop-off and seating areas, restrooms, and concessionaries. If all goes as planned a massage center or small spa and a vegetarian or health-food restaurant will be opening as well.

“Tourism is one of the world’s most important industries and the world’s No. 1 employer and encompasses transportation, catering, retail, recreation, entertainment, and a wide array of other services for visitors, including banking and healthcare.”

“Tourism jobs are permanent jobs because serving a guest requires a personal touch.”

“According to legend, the Coamo Hot Springs were the fountain of youth for which conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon searched. The public baths date from 1847, when a luxury hotel was established in the southern municipality. It closed operations in the late 1950’s”.

The new Puerto Rico Convention Center is going to be so big that if you hit a baseball from one end to the other it would count as a homerun on a Big League Baseball Field.

The Official Puerto Rican Seal is the only national emblem in the world to have an image which represents the form of Jesus Christ.

The majority of peoples first and last names are of biblical or Christian origin.

Most holidays are also of biblical or Christian origin: Three Kings Day (Jan. 6), Holy Week, Good Friday, etc.

Puerto Rico is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the north and the Caribbean Sea on the south.

Puerto Rico is the country with the most churches per square mile in the world, of every existing denomination.

Puerto Rico is home to “El Yunque”, the only Tropical National Rain Forest administered by the US Forest Service.

**On behalf of the RICO SUNTOURS Family we want to extend our warmest wishes & lots of success for you and yours on every occasion. May God bless you all!! **