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59% of visitors to Puerto Rico were women and 63% are Puerto Ricans residing in other jurisdictions

This is according to the Visitor Profile for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 published by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics in collaboration with the Tourism Company

San Juan, Puerto Rico. December 9, 2024. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (CTPR) published the Visitor Profile Fiscal Year 2023-2024. This Profile includes the findings of the Traveler Survey conducted from July 2023 to June 2024. This survey was conducted at Luis Muñoz Marín airports in Carolina, Mercedita in Ponce and Rafael Hernández airports in Aguadilla, as well as at the tourist docks of Old San Juan. The term “visitor” includes all non-resident travelers staying in hotels, hostels, rented apartments, homes of family and/or friends, own home, guesthouse, and others.

“The main statistical product of traveler surveys are estimates of visitor expenses, which are included in Puerto Rico's Balance of Payments as income for our economy. In addition, these surveys contribute to the determination of Gross Product and generate statistics on the characteristics of travelers, characteristics that are necessary for decision-making both at the governmental level and by the private sector,” explained Dr. Orville M. Disdier Flores, Executive Director of the Institute.

For his part, the executive director of the CTPR, Carlos Mercado Santiago, highlighted that “the new Traveler Survey questionnaires were specifically designed to respond to the data needs identified by the CTPR, Discover Puerto Rico, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, the Puerto Rico Planning Board and Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC. This strategic adaptation allowed us to collect key information for the planning, execution and evaluation of short and long-term promotion strategies, in addition to meeting the main objectives of economic statistics.”

The Visitor Profile provides information about visitors regarding their place of origin, gender, age, education, occupation, income level, the purpose of their trip, type of accommodation, places visited, average number of days spent, activities carried out, the quality of the services offered at airports, their satisfaction with their visit and their expenses in various categories. It should be noted that several reported analyses were broken down between Puerto Rican visitors and other types of visitors, allowing for certain contrasts. Among the most significant findings from this study are the following:

• 93% of visitors come from other jurisdictions in the United States.
• 63% of the people who visit us are Puerto Ricans who reside in other jurisdictions.
• 59% of the visitors were women.
• Puerto Rican women between 40 and 59 years of age represent Puerto Rico's most frequent visitor profile.
• The majority of visitors are highly educated, with 53% having a baccalaureate or higher degree.
• More than 50% of Puerto Rican visitors reported annual family incomes greater than $60,000 while most other visitors reported annual family incomes of $80,000 or more.
• The majority of Puerto Rican visitors visit us for vacations or to visit family and friends (36% and 32%, respectively).
• 47% of visitors stayed in the private residences of friends or family, followed by hotels (22%) and short-term rentals (20%).
• The main municipalities where non-Puerto Rican visitors stayed were San Juan, Carolina and Rio Grande. Puerto Rican visitors tended to disperse more across other regions outside the metropolitan area.
• The Metro region was the most visited in general, by 66% of visitors. This region is particularly popular with non-Puerto Rican visitors (76%).
• The regions of Porta del Sol, known for its beach tourism, and Porta Cordillera, famous for its mountainous landscapes, showed relatively low visitor values at 28% and 15%, respectively. 20% of the total number of visitors reported visiting Porta Caribe, famous for its culture and history.
• A low percentage of visitors (17%) participate in ecotourism activities.
• 95% of visitors were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their visit and 96% of visitors stated that they are “very likely” or “likely” to return to Puerto Rico.
• The total expenditure of air visitors reached $2,546 million, of which 52% were Puerto Rican visitors. Including cruise ship hikers in transit, total spending is close to $2.6 billion, representing approximately 3% of Puerto Rico's Gross Product.

To access the Visitor Profile Fiscal Year 2023-2024, you can visit Visitor profile.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can visit the website: www.estadisticas.pr or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

Authorized by the Office of the Electoral Comptroller OCE-SA-2024- 13775

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Some 67,000 people immigrated to the United States in 2016, the highest migration rate recorded in 12 years.

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