Cruise ship passengers up 10.6% at end of Fiscal ’17
The most recent result represents the second highest number recorded in the past five years at the Port of San Juan, which hosted 10 more cruise ship visits compared to the previous fiscal year. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
Cruise ship passenger traffic at the Port of San Juan reflected a 10.6 percent increase at the end of Fiscal 2017, in comparison to the prior year, marking the second highest total in the last five years, government officials said.
Ports Authority Executive Director Omar Marrero-Díaz and Puerto Rico Tourism Co. Executive Director José Izquierdo said in a joint statement that at the end of June 2017, the Port of San Juan received more than 1.4 million passengers on cruise ships, or 125,596 passengers more than the more than 1.3 million arriving in 2015-2016.
The most recent result represents the second highest number recorded in the past five years at the Port of San Juan, which hosted 10 more cruise ship visits compared to the previous fiscal year.
Marrero-Díaz attributed the increasing trend to “the joint commitment of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, and the Ports Authority to elevate our resources to their highest capacity, as exemplified by improvements made to the infrastructure of Pier 3 which allows the arrival of Oasis-class ships with a capacity of about 6,000 passengers and offers tourists a better experience on the island.”
“We’re confident that maritime activity will continue to grow in the coming months, as well as its impact on the economy of San Juan and Puerto Rico in general,” he added.
For his part, José Izquierdo said “there is no better alternative in the Caribbean for cruise ships than Puerto Rico. Our history, culture, beaches, gastronomy and, above all, our people, among other attractions the island has, are an impossible combination to match in the region.”
“The growth of this industry in the past year confirms that the message that our island should join as many cruise itineraries as possible is being sent by travelers and heard by senior executives of the cruise lines,” Izquierdo said.
