Puerto Rico’s destination marketing organization – called Discover Puerto Rico– He assured yesterday that tourism activity on the island has increased in recent months despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the entity’s findings, hotel occupancy registered 82.3% up to April 3, which represents a tripling of the numbers reported at the start of the year and the highest they have experienced since March 2019. At that time, according to Alisha Valentine, who is in charge of statistics at the Discover for Puerto Rico, hotel occupancy got up 84%In March this year, more than 380,000 people arrived on the island through Luis Muñoz Marín Airport.
Valentine also indicated that restrictions on international flights are leading to tourism in the United States and, consequently, in Puerto Rico, will increase this year.
“These restrictions on international travel are an opportunity for local tourism … It is very likely that Puerto Rico will experience greater increases as a result,” Valentine said. He added that other reasons why tourists decide to visit the island in the midst of the pandemic are due to the health measures taken by the government and that tourists consulted by the organization assured they felt safe.
Leah Chandler, Discover for Puerto Rico’s Chief Marketing Officer, for her part, said the entity wants to form alliances with the Disney company so that the island is part of the promotion of the new West Side Story movie. “This is a great pop culture moment and a great opportunity to partner with the New York DMO and send a message through culture and dance,” he said.
He also said they promoted the island as the ideal place for remote work, while restrictions to stop COVID-19 kept most jobs at bay.
Chandler also said it would continue to develop a campaign with Aerostar – the company that operates Luis Muñoz Marín airport – to address the horrible behavior of many tourists in recent months.
While Ed Case, the DMO’s chief sales officer, indicated that sales on the island started to soar in February. He said Puerto Rico was only surpassed by Hawaii among US destinations. He stated that demand for rooms on the island is nearing pre-pandemic levels.
The presentation also featured the participation of Governor Pedro Pierluisi, who celebrated the increase in tourism activity despite a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases.
“The interest of our consumers has increased the demand and consequently increased the supply of airlines to our island. And the increase in the number of visitors is higher than previous figures, showing that consumers have confidence in and are attracted to visit the port Rico because of his health and safety measures, ”Pierluisi said during his speech.