By The Star Staff
The arrival of more than 46,000 cruise ship passengers between Friday, March 22 and Sunday, March 31 and hotel occupancy projections for the long weekend exceeding 91% augur a strong week of activity in the island’s tourism sector, Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) Executive Director Carlos Mercado Santiago said Wednesday.
“We can affirm that Tourism is experiencing an excellent season during the traditional ‘Spring Break’ and Easter holidays,” Mercado Santiago said in a written statement. “We are pleased with the work we continue to do together with industry partners to promote all the attractions and natural beauty that Puerto Rico has to offer, while stimulating economic activity for the benefit of residents in all regions of the island.”
So far, the highest percentage of hotel registrations are in regions outside the San Juan Metro area with an average of 94%. As for the Paradores de Puerto Rico, a program created by the Tourism Company in 1973, they have reported 100% of their rooms full. It should be noted that these projections may continue to increase over the next few days, as a result of last-minute bookings.
Mercado Santiago added that preliminary projections from the PRTC indicate that the total room tax collection for March will exceed $15 million, compared to the same month in 2023, when collections of $13.7 million were reported. If those numbers hold, this would be the highest-grossing month in the history of tourism in Puerto Rico.
The cruise sector, meanwhile, will contribute some $6,048,958 to the local treasury with 11 departures from the port of San Juan (homeport) with around 16,000 passengers, and nine transit stops with 30,560 passengers.
Mercado Santiago noted that the projections in all sectors continue to be very encouraging.