In 2025, Puerto Rico welcomed 6.8 million air travelers at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and 1.6 million cruise passengers, making it Puerto Rico’s fifth consecutive year of record-breaking tourism (via Discover Puerto Rico). All projections assumed the trend would continue, with 2026 adding new records to the island’s belt. Instead, in a sudden twist, tourist movement into the island has decreased this year. So, what happened to make a seemingly thriving tourist destination lose its spark?…..Continue reading..
Source: Islands
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In 2017, Hurricane Maria caused severe damage to the island and its infrastructure, disrupting tourism for many months. The damage was estimated at $100 billion. An April 2019 report indicated that by that time, only a few hotels were still closed, that life for tourists in and around the capital had, for the most part, returned to normal.
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. This was important for the economy, since tourism provides up to 10% of GDP, according to Discover Puerto Rico. A tourism campaign was launched by Discover Puerto Rico in 2018 intended to highlight the culture and history, branding it distinct and different from other Caribbean destinations.
Roads, freeways, expressways, and highways are maintained by the Highways and Transportation Authority under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and patrolled by the Puerto Rico Police Department. The San Juan metropolitan area is served by a public bus transit system and a metro system called Tren Urbano (‘Urban Train’). Other public transport include seaborne ferries and carros públicos (private mini buses).
There are three international airports, the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Mercedita International Airport in Ponce, and the Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla, and 27 local airports. The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is the largest aerial transportation hub in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico has nine ports. The San Juan Port is the largest in Puerto Rico, and the busiest port in the Caribbean and the 10th busiest in the United States in terms of commercial activity and cargo movement, respectively.
The second largest port is the Port of the Americas in Ponce, currently under expansion to increase cargo capacity to 1.5 million 20-foot containers (TEUs) per year. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA, Spanish: Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica, AEE)—is an electric power company and the government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico responsible for electricity generation, power transmission, and power distribution in Puerto Rico.
PREPA was, by law, the only entity authorized to conduct such business in Puerto Rico, effectively making it a government monopoly until 2018. PREPA is ruled by a governing board appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico, and is run by an executive director. On July 20, 2018, Puerto Rico Law 120-2018 (Ley para Transformar el Sistema Eléctrico de Puerto Rico) was signed. This law authorized PREPA to sell infrastructure and services to other providers.
As a result, a contract was signed on June 22, 2020, making LUMA Energy the operator of the energy distribution and transmission infrastructure, as well as other areas of PREPA’s operations, in effect partially privatizing the Puerto Rican power grid. The takeover was set for June 1, 2021, amidst protests and uncertainty from the point of view of the general public and the former-PREPA workers and union members.
Modern Puerto Rican culture is a unique mix of cultural antecedents: including European (predominantly Spanish, Italian, French, German and Irish), African, and, more recently, some North American and many South Americans. Many Cubans and Dominicans have relocated to the island in the past few decades. From the Spanish, Puerto Rico received the Spanish language, the Catholic religion, and the vast majority of their cultural and moral values and traditions.
The United States added English-language influence, the university system, and the adoption of some holidays and practices. Much of the culture centers on the influence of music and has been shaped by other cultures combining with local and traditional rhythms. Early in the history of Puerto Rican music, the influences of Spanish and African traditions were most noticeable.
The cultural movements across the Caribbean and North America have played a vital role in the more recent musical influences which have reached Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has many symbols, but only the Flor de Maga has been made official. Other popular, traditional, or unofficial symbols of Puerto Rico are the Puerto Rican spindalis, the kapok tree, the coquí frog, the jíbaro, the Taíno Indian, and Cerro Las Tetas with its jíbaro culture monument.
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