The study details trends for leisure travelers, business travelers, relatives, members of the LGBTQ+ community, the diaspora and African-American travelers
Discover Puerto Rico published today the details of the first complete study on visitors arriving in Puerto Rico, a task that lasted one year and included interviews conducted at different points on the Island with 1,607 travelers of legal age from abroad.
In the same way, Discover Puerto Rico announced that it entered into a collaboration agreement with the Ana G. Méndez University (UAGM) to stimulate the cooperation of both entities in the training of students, the celebration of educational events and the promotion of research on tourism. with initiatives such as the exchange of information or studies such as the one revealed today with the visitor’s profile.
One of the main findings of the profile is that 98% of those surveyed were satisfied with their experience on the Island. Similarly, 95% estimate that they will return in the future and less than 15% experienced any concern at the destination.
“With such high satisfaction and desire to return among the visitors, this group of travelers offers an important opportunity for the island. They are the easy fruit to hit, with a certainly higher chance of conversion. In 2022, only 49% of leisure visitors to Puerto Rico were repeat visitors. At a time of economic anxiety or uncertainty, this group is an opportunity for Puerto Rico to maintain visits in the short term,” said Erin Francis Cummings, Chief Executive Officer of Destination Analysts, the firm that carried out the study together with Gaither International. . Her expressions were during a Discover Puerto Rico event held at the Carolina Campus of the University.
The main reason for the trips was vacation (65%). Only 13% said that their trip was to visit relatives or relatives. Travelers selected Puerto Rico as a destination for its climate (34%), its scenic beauty (32%), and local culture (31%).
On average, travelers stayed on the Island for 6.1 nights. About half stayed overnight in a hotel (45%), a third in short-term rentals (34%), and the rest in private residences. It is estimated that each visitor spent around $208 per day. These expenses include lodging, food, entertainment, experiences and general purchases.
In terms of sociodemographic characteristics, the visitors were, on average, 46 years old, the majority were women (58%), the predominant marital status was married (60%), and the average family income was around $135,000 per year. A third of the travelers came from homes with children.
64% identified as White or Caucasian, 64% and 13% as Black or African American. 24% identified as Hispanic or Latino. A similar percentage (23%) said they were of Puerto Rican descent and 8% affirmed their identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
This overview shows the composition of travelers in the best year in the history of the tourism industry in terms of visitor spending ($5.7 billion), accommodation rental tax collections ($116 million), and jobs in the tourism sectors. recreation and lodgings (91,500). Similarly, 2022 had the highest passenger traffic at the Luis Muñoz Marín airport (over 10 million) in more than a decade and was the year in which our Live Boricua (Vive Boricua) promotional campaign launched.
In fact, the promotional efforts of Discover Puerto Rico show progress in the familiarity of travelers with Puerto Rico as a tourist destination, in the positive perception of the Island and the probability of visiting. In fact, both the probability of a visit and the positive perception of Puerto Rico increased five percentage points since 2021, according to data from the Strategic Marketing & Research firm. “The advance has been made because Discover Puerto Rico was able to add a significant amount of economic resources with the allocations we received from federal funds (ARPA, CARES and CDGB-DR). In 2022, we managed to reach over 33 million homes with the Live Boricua campaign and over 32% of our visitors know about or have been positively impacted by our promotional efforts,” said Alisha Valentine,
Collaborative effort between industry and academia.
On the other hand, it was reported that the collaboration agreement has a duration of two years. Among the clauses, Discover Puerto Rico and the University agree to organize conferences, seminars, and courses related to tourism, to carry out professional internships for students, promote and assist academic research associated with the visitor industry, and collaborate in activities, meetings, conferences and training organized by the entities.
In the same way, Discover Puerto Rico will adopt an area in the José A. “Tony” Santana International School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts of the Carolina Campus of the UAGM, where images associated with the promotional campaign “Live Boricua” (Vive Boricua) will be displayed ).
“We feel honored to be part of this great project which will allow our International School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts to maintain its commitment to academic excellence and to the development of the tourism ecosystem in Puerto Rico,” said José F. Méndez Méndez, UAGM President.
“This collaboration allows us to collaborate closely with academia and positively impact students who are making their way in our industry that has so much potential to grow the economy of Puerto Rico and that each time offers more and better professional development opportunities,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico.
Source : Discover Puerto Rico
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