SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Proud Puerto Rican Mónica Puig, who won Puerto Rico's first gold medal at the Rio Olympics, recently returned home to enjoy a worry free time with her family and friends as she celebrated her win. Puig also spent time working with local officials to raise awareness of protection and prevention programs to stop the spread of Zika.

Puig says that Puerto Rico is a great getaway for everyone and travelers should know the facts when planning a trip to the island, "Zika can have serious consequences for pregnant women and those looking to get pregnant. But if you're not pregnant or planning to have a family in the near future, come visit Puerto Rico, my home sweet home."

Puig adds that precautionary measures are simple for visitors, "Apply insect repellent carefully and liberally and enjoy a worry free experience."

Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) Executive Director, Ingrid I. Rivera Rocafort, praised Puig's achievements as well as her involvement and echoed her sentiments about informed, worry-free travel to the island: "We couldn't be more proud of Monica's achievement at the Olympics, bringing home the gold for the first time ever. And we are as equally proud of her commitment in helping us educate all about the facts not fear of Zika, urging travelers, who are not pregnant or expecting to start a family, to come experience Puerto Rico and see firsthand the island she loves."

PRTC has been working with the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association, Meet Puerto Rico, the Convention Bureau, and other industry partners for the implementation of an aggressive educational and preventive campaign to ensure that hotels and tourist attractions are actively spraying to control mosquito populations, maintaining strict, preventive grounds-keeping practices, and training employees to recognize and deal with potential mosquito breeding grounds on their respective properties.

To find out more about what the PRTC and its partners are doing to fight Zika in Puerto Rico, visit: http://puertoriconow.seepuertorico.com/.

About Puerto Rico Tourism Company
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), founded in 1970, is a public corporation responsible for stimulating, promoting and regulating the development of the tourism industry.  It markets Puerto Rico as a tourism destination through advertising, public relations and promotional activities; promotes tourism among visitors and local residents; provides visitor orientation and technical assistance to investors; evaluates tourism facilities and establishes standards of quality; and regulates and oversees gaming operations.  PRTC has offices and representatives in the U.S. mainland, Canada, Europe and Latin America.

About Mónica Puig
Mónica Puig is a Puerto Rican professional tennis player and Olympic gold medal winner. She won Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold medal, is a Central American Games and Pan American Games silver medalist. Introduced to tennis by mother; her first tennis memory is playing in a clinic at a country club. She also enjoys going to the beach, relaxing at home, spending time with family and her dogs, reading and creative writing. Ranked at a career high #30 on the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) world rankings, she is coached by Juan Todero. Puig is the daughter of José Puig and Astrid Puig Marchán.

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SOURCE Puerto Rico Tourism Company