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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PRESS RELEASE

Puerto Rico Commission for Suicide Prevention and Statistics Institute publish statistical report for 2019

For the year 2019, 176 cases of suicide were reported, 67 cases less than in 2018

Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) reported that a collaboration with the Commission for Suicide Prevention (CPS), attached to the Puerto Rico Department of Health, resulted in the “Annual Statistical Report on Deaths by Suicide 2019”.

“This report is of great importance for citizens, since it presents data on suicide for 2019 and draws comparisons with previous years. In addition, it collects data not only on fatal suicide events, but it also presents information on calls to the ASSMCA PAS line and, for the first time, includes data on suicide attempts and contemplations attended by the Emergency Medical Corps,” said Myribel Santiago, manager of statistical projects at the Institute and co-author of the publication.

The publication of this report underlines the importance of the Institute in coordinating the statistical production service of government entities. The Institute has the capacity not only to request statistical information from executive branch agencies, but also to provide them with collaboration, advice and the necessary tools to improve the quality of the statistics they produce.

“Despite the extraordinary circumstances we currently live in, we hope to continue collaborating. Today, more than ever, we need reliable and accurate data to facilitate the implementation of a responsible, informed and sensitive public policy to the complex reality we live in,” said Dr. María Isabel Coss, educational coordinator of the CPS and lead author of the publication.

For his part, Dr. Disdier argued that “the results of this collaborative report reflect that in 2019, a crude suicide rate of 5.5 per 100,000 inhabitants was observed, which is the lowest rate since 2000. Without a doubt, this is very positive and it also demonstrates the enormous importance of continuing to support the preparation of this type of report, since it is only with data that we can know if the prevention measures are giving the desired results”.

The CPS is responsible for promoting, developing, implementing, coordinating actions and strategies for suicide prevention, adopting an integrative and interdisciplinary approach aimed at individuals, families, communities at risk, and helping professionals. In addition, it emphasizes research, the development of prevention and intervention programs and

in raising public awareness of the magnitude and seriousness of suicide in Puerto Rico. For its part, the Institute is a governmental entity whose mission is to guarantee Puerto Rico that it has complete, reliable statistics, and quick and universal access.

You can access this annual report and other related reports through the following link: Suicide Statistics.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Contacts:

Idia M. Martinez, R-28, 787-603-3200

Lourdes Burgos, R-27, 787-562-2932

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The Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics has a new president of its Board of Directors

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) has a new president of its Board of Directors. The Board elected Dr. Javier Hernández Acosta as president, after the expiry of the term as board member of the past president, Nicolás Muñoz Muñoz. Dr. Hernández is a professor and director of the School of Arts, Design and Creative Industries at the Sacred Heart University. Similarly, Dr. Hernández is the Founder of Cultural Investment and the Center for Creative Economy, Inc., non-profit organizations that support the development of cultural and creative industries in Puerto Rico. Dr. Hernández has been a member of the Board of Directors since October 2020 and prior to that role he collaborated as a researcher on several projects of the Institute such as the World Values Survey (2018), the Innovation Survey (2015) And the Science and Technology Survey: Research and Development (2015).

Members of the Board of Directors do not earn compensation for their services. The Board is composed, in addition to Dr. Javier Hernández Acosta, Mrs. Carola Ballester Descartes, vice-president, Dr. José A. Jorge Pagán, secretary, Mr. Vicente Feliciano Pérez, Dr. Francisco E. Martínez Aponte and Mr. Manuel Laboy. This Board of Directors, as established in Act 209 of August 28, 2003, is the governing body that establishes the administrative policy of the Institute, which is led by Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Executive Director. “The Institute's relevance increases every day with the need for greater transparency and accessibility to information sources to support decision-making. It is up to us to guarantee its autonomy and fiscal sustainability so that it can continue to expand its impact. It is a great responsibility to support this management from the Board of Directors,” said Dr. Hernández, president of the Board of Directors.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is a governmental entity with fiscal and administrative autonomy with the mission of coordinating the statistical production service of government entities. To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Instagram (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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For questions and more information write to the following email: preguntas@estadisticas.pr