Tourism in Puerto Rico
[1] By October 2019, nearly all of the popular amenities for tourists, in the major destinations such as San Juan, Ponce and Arecibo, were in operation on the island and tourism was rebounding.
He highlights the U.S. attempt in the 1930s to make Puerto Rico an island destination for tourists to bring in a new source of revenue to the U.S. and help lift it out of economic depression.
[7] The creation of the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan in 1949 represented a partnership between the Puerto Rican government and private U.S businesses.
A majority of Puerto Rican citizens did not approve of the decision to build the hotel as they believed that the public funds would have better suited the island inhabitants if they were invested in improving education and social welfare.
It is mandatory, according to Puerto Rican law, that casinos must be attached to hotels and resorts, and must be located within "zones of historic or touristic interest" (Spanish: zonas históricas, antiguas o de interés turístico).
[14][15][16] Other tourist activities such as fishing also became popular in the second half of the 20th century with Puerto Rico being considered one of the best places in the world to catch Atlantic tarpon.
[17] The tourism industry experienced moderate levels of growth in 2014, driven primarily by the introduction of new cruise lines and airfare activity and the development of new hotels on the island.
In 2016, Puerto Rico was featured as a popular destination for business meetings, incentives, conferencing, and exhibitions, due to its modern convention center and district overlooking the Port of San Juan.
[19][20] As of 2024, nonstop flights to Puerto Rico are available year-round from domestic airports such as Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis/St.
Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington, D.C., and several international airports, including Bogotá, Cancún, Madrid, Medellín, Montreal, Panama City, and Toronto, as well as regional Caribbean destinations such as Barbados, Port of Spain, Punta Cana, St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo, and Tortola.
Increasing land privatization in Puerto Rico takes place amid what scholars Yarimar Bonilla and Marisol LeBrón term “aftershocks of disaster,”[21] where the island is mired in neocolonial debt and public infrastructures like airports and hospitals continue to be sold to the highest bidder.
[21] The passing of Act 20/22 in 2012 also allowed wealthy elites from the United States to treat Puerto Rico as a tax haven and become “stakeholders.” New arrivals–who do not include those born in Puerto Rico—who spend at least six months in the territory can be exempt from federal, local, capital gains, and passive income taxes until 2035, all of which contributes to the rise of “hyper-segregated elite foreign enclaves around the island.”[21] As Naomi Klein and Boniila demonstrate in their research, this “infrastructure of disposition and displacement” was deeply rooted even before Hurricane Maria in 2017.
[21] Hurricane Maria only worsened the ongoing land privatization, as one resident shared: “It feels like Hurricane Maria placed a ‘For Sale’ sign on the island.”[22] More recently, in 2021, cryptocurrency companies like Pantera Capital and Redwood City Ventures have been moving their offices to Puerto Rico alongside 274 other corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and other entities approved under the Exports Services Act to avoid taxes.
[23] Mortgage investors, such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Perella Weinberg Partners, and TPG Capital have increasingly turned to Puerto Rico for cheap foreclosed properties as local residents are forced to leave.
Meanwhile, in July 2019 the Puerto Rican state planning board put forth new land use codes in an attempt to bring business to the island and alleviate the debt crisis.
Additionally, the 2012 Act 60 provides tax benefits for foreigners who relocate and buy property in Puerto Rico within 2 years of moving.
According to the New York Times, many of these investors buy residential properties and turn them into short-term rentals, causing a housing shortage for local residents.
[22] This is as forty-three percent of Puerto Ricans live under the poverty level, meaning owning housing is increasingly accessible only to the wealthy, who, in many instances, are foreign investors.
[31] There are numerous ongoing grassroots movements and protests against land privatization in Puerto Rico, particularly against the expansion of many resorts and hotels onto public beaches.
This decision boosted Cuban tourism and caused the island nation to surpass Puerto Rico in total visitors, but in 2017, the U.S. government re-enforced travel restrictions to Cuba.
An April 2019 report stated that the tourism team, "after hitting the one-year anniversary of the storm in September 2018", the organization began to shift towards more optimistic messaging.
Some of the other prominent tourist attractions of the region include the Humacao Nature Reserve, La Cordillera Reef Nature Reserve, Las Cabezas de San Juan with its historic lighthouse, the Malecón of Naguabo, Palmas del Mar, Piñones and its food kiosks, Punta Tuna Lighthouse, and Puerto Del Rey Marina.
It is prominently marked by its karst topography, which is evident in the numerous mogotes, sinkholes, cave systems and dramatic limestone ocean cliffs.
Many of the small historic towns of the region such as Adjuntas, Ciales, Jayuya and Utuado are also closely tied to the coffee industry of Puerto Rico.
In spite of damage caused by previous hurricanes, particularly Maria in 2017, an April 2019 report stated that "1.7 million cruise ship passengers are expected to visit this fiscal year".
The rationale for this decision was discussed in a news report:[51]The reason for the cancellations is the privatization of the cruise docks in San Juan due to much-needed maintenance that is needed.
