US Travel Assoc.: Puerto Rico leads way in travel recovery
The US Travel Association’s Recovery Dashboard with data from Tourism Economics confirmed that Puerto Rico is leading in recovery, with travel spending exceeding stateside averages.
When comparing monthly spending, on average, the US was approximately 11% below the same time two years ago in September. But travel spending in Puerto Rico was more than 23% above that mark.
While eight US states are seeing visitor spending levels above 2019, they range from between 1% and 9% higher while Puerto Rico’s visitor spending was 23% higher than two years ago, the trade group stated.
Puerto Rico has the highest percentage of people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the United States as of Oct. 19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“A healthy 73% of Puerto Rico’s total population of 3.3 million are fully inoculated against the virus, according to CDC data. The US territory also has one of the lowest COVID community transmission rates in the U.S., with only 18 confirmed cases among 100,000 residents in the last seven days,” it added.
“These positive trends lift the island’s travel niches, not the least of which is golf. Puerto Rico’s 18 courses, beaches, and other tropically enhanced places are ideal for relaxation and rejuvenation during fall and winter, when temperatures average in the 80s,” it added in a statement.
Golf is prospering in Puerto Rico during the pandemic, stemming from the inherent safeness and social distancing found in the game and on the island, the association stated.
