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The pool deck onboard the Explorer of the Seas >Courtesy

Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas to Call Isla Grande Home

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Tourism’s rebound continues with increased cruise line and airline operations

Zoe Landi Fontana, Collaborator

Beginning on Nov. 7, 2021, the cruise ship Explorer of the Seas will call the Pan-American Pier II West in Isla Grande its new homeport, following the signing of an agreement made between the Ports Authority of Puerto Rico, the Department of Health and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

With a capacity of 3,282 passengers and 1,180 crew members, the ship will set sail from Puerto Rico with a seven-night itinerary, stopping in San Juan; St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI); St Croix, USVI; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten; Castries, St Lucia; Bridgetown, Barbados; Basseterre, St. Kitts; and returning to disembark back in San Juan.

Commencing these operations is cause for celebration, as Carlos Mercado, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), expressed: “We feel very enthusiastic about the initiation of the homeport operations of Explorer of the Seas at Pan-American Pier II West, starting in the month of November, and we are grateful to Royal Caribbean for continuing to opt into our market as a key point of connection in the Caribbean… We remain focused on broadening and strengthening business relations with cruise lines that operate on the island. Agreements like this give a significant boost to tourist activity and the local economy.”

According to Mercado, the agreement to establish Explorer of the Seas’ home port in Isla Grande area of San Juan underlines the government’s commitment to reinforce Puerto Rico as a top tourist destination and foster job creation. The homeport operations will increase economic activity within the transportation sector, hotel occupancy, local businesses, and provide other benefits to the island, direct and indirect.

The PRTC’s goals will be supported further by the addition of Spirit Airlines’ new daily nonstop service between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Mercedita International Airport (PSE) in the southern city of Ponce, which will be officially launched Feb. 16, 2022. This route will provide eight nonstop flights between Florida and Puerto Rico for Spirit Airlines’ customers and is projected to add approximately 52,925 additional seats with a local economic impact of over $6.6 million.

The announcement was made by the PRTC, together with Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, during the World Routes 2021 convention held in Milan, Italy. Mercado highlighted that increasing the availability of seats and flight options to the island is an integral part of the overall plan to maximize the development and decentralization of Puerto Rico’s tourism industry, and its contribution to the economy of every region on the island, as well as push forward the goal to make Puerto Rico a major air access hub in the Caribbean.

Announcing Spirit Airlines’ new route at the World Routes convention further positioned Puerto Rico as a world-class destination and is evidence that airlines are still committed to Puerto Rico as an attractive destination for their clients, he said.

The news came as Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR), the company operating the Luis Muñoz Marín (LMM) International Airport that serves the San Juan metro area, reported that air passenger traffic continues to post positive numbers. In September, there was a 19.9 percent increase in air passenger arrivals at LMM, compared with the pre-pandemic level of Sept. 2019.

In terms of year-to-date numbers, there has been a 1.5 percent increase in air arrivals at LMM, when comparing September 2021 versus September 2019.

Despite COVID, Invest Puerto Rico Gets Positive Results

FY 2021: Commitments of over 550-plus new businesses

THE WEEKLY JOURNAL Staff

Since last year, COVID-19 pandemic has dampened the business environment in Puerto Rico and around the world. Despite the economic and health crisis caused by the coronavirus, Invest Puerto Rico (Invest PR), the island’s economic development organization, has reported its

“achievements” for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. As submitted to its board of directors and the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its Spanish acronym), the results show that the organization continues to elevate Puerto Rico as a competitive business and investment destination.

According to its report, InvestPR collaborated with key partners to generate over 4,700 leads and 2,000 prospect opportunities, resulting in commitments of 555 new businesses, 4,998 jobs, and $270 million in capital investment for the island. The next steps would include ensuring that these “commitments” follow through in the coming year with the actual opening of 555 new businesses, creation of 5,000 jobs and tangible investment of $270 million. “Last fiscal year was all about quickly pivoting in light of the pandemic, which led InvestPR to support ongoing efforts and prioritize Puerto Rico’s bioscience sector as a value-rich ally to support the U.S. critical supply chain. We built upon our strategy, yielding promising results, while also enabling a multipronged approach focused on increasing awareness about the island’s value proposition that boosted lead generation activities, and improved our ‘product,’ that being Puerto Rico’s competitiveness,” said Rodrick Miller, CEO of Invest Puerto Rico.

Miller also noted that multisectoral collaboration continues to be a driving force in InvestPR’s results. An important partnership with DDEC and collaborations with entities such as the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, Discover Puerto Rico, as well as nonprofits such as ConPRmetidos, and professional organizations including the Mechanical Contractors Association and the Pharmaceutical Industry Association, have helped

In fact, InvestPR move its goals forward.

Report highlights

The next steps would include ensuring that these “commitments” follow through in the coming year with the actual opening of 555 new businesses, creation of 5,000 jobs and tangible investment of $270 million. As per InvestPR’s report, a main goal continues to be further increasing awareness of Puerto Rico’s value proposition for investors. With this in mind, InvestPR reported these Key Performance Indicators: “impressions” (+334.12 percent), website visits (+110.84 percent) and “earned media” (+984.60 percent). In marketing terms, impressions are defined as the number of times an advertisement or company image is shown to a viewer. Earned media is defined as publicity or media mentions that is not generated by the specific organization, in this case InvestPR. InvestPR also noted that its effort was supported by the launch of a four-week advertising campaign, titled “Accelerate Success,” which focused on the island’s bioscience legacy. The campaign launched on digital channels and generated over 9 million impressions and accounted for 44 percent of all InvestPR pageviews since 2019.

Meanwhile, InvestPR’s website, an important tool in investment attraction efforts, was updated to include new content that aims to resonate with potential investors. For example, the site includes information and data points about the island’s high-level competencies in bioscience, technology, logistics, professional services, and finance and insurance sectors.

As part of its messaging, the organization hosted eight virtual webinars, each of which underscored Puerto Rico’s value proposition in the bioscience industry, technology and innovation, entrepreneurship space, creative industries, and others. Miller expressed confidence that “the wheels of economic development are in motion. Our team, partners, and collaborators are aligned to elevating Puerto Rico’s viability as an investment destination… There is still much work to do.”

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