Puerto Rico’s tourism industry continues to expand, but the island must strengthen the conditions that let it compete with other destinations, said Marilia Pergola, Vice President of Operations for the Caribbean and Latin America at Hotel Equities. She said the sector can still improve hotel operations, service quality and sustained tourism development, particularly connectivity and security.
Pergola said Puerto Rico holds a major advantage over other Caribbean islands: the United States is its main market, and visitors need no passport or visa. She said Puerto Rico, Discover Puerto Rico and the hotel brands need to work with airlines to bring more business from other destinations, noting that 90% of tourists arriving in Puerto Rico come from the United States.
Reducing that dependence, she said, would open the way to more markets and airlines. Pergola also stressed giving guests greater assurance by having them stay in establishments backed by a recognized brand. She noted that many short-term rental bookings are informal and recommended regulating that market.
She also pointed to "bleisure," combining business travel with leisure, as an opportunity, including for travelers with airport layovers en route to the Virgin Islands. On a possible move into all-inclusive resorts, she said energy and other operating costs would be a significant challenge, along with the need for a strong labor pool, more rooms, more on-site restaurants and larger hotels than currently exist.
She added that flight options are more limited than those to the Dominican Republic. Pergola expects growth to continue, and Hotel Equities is negotiating new projects.