Puerto Rico’s destination marketing organization -called Discover Puerto Rico– said yesterday that tourist activity has increased on the island in recent months despite the pandemic of COVID-19.
According to findings from the entity, until April 3, hotel occupancy recorded 82.3%, which would involve three times the figures reported at the beginning of the year and the highest they have experienced since March 2019. At that time, according to Alisha Valentine, in charge of statistics at the Discover in Puerto Rico, Hotel occupancy was located in 84%. In March this year, it was recorded that more than 380,000 people arrived on the island through Luis Muñoz Marín Airport.
Valentine also indicated that restrictions on international flights will cause tourism in the United States and therefore in Puerto Rico to increase this year.
“These restrictions on international travel are an opportunity for local tourism … It’s very likely that Puerto Rico will start experiencing further increases because of this,” 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 implemented by the government as tourists consulted by the organization have assured to feel safe.
For her part, Leah Chandler, chief marketing officer of Discover for Puerto Rico, mentioned that the entity seeks to forge alliances with the Disney company so that the island is part of the promotion of the new West Side Story film. “It’s a great moment in popular culture and a great opportunity to collaborate alongside the New York DMO and send a message through culture and dance,” he said.
He also mentioned that they promoted the island as the ideal place for remote work while restrictions to stop COVID-19 kept most occupations working remotely.
Chandler said they are also continuing to run a campaign alongside Aerostar – the company that manages Luis Muñoz Marin Airport – to address the dire behavior of many tourists in recent months.
While Ed Casi, the DMO’s chief sales officer, has indicated that in February, it began to experience an increase in sales on the island. He mentioned that Puerto Rico was only surpassed by Hawaii among American destinations. He raised that the demand for rooms on the island is close to reaching pre-pandemic levels.
The presentation was also attended by Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, who celebrated the increase in tourism activity despite a dramatic rise in VOCID-19 cases.
“The interest of our consumers has increased demand and therefore increased the supply of airlines to our island. And the increase in visitors has exceeded previous figures showing that consumers are confident and attracted. to visit the rich Port because of its health and safety measures, ”Pierluisi noted during his speech.