April 19 - Discover Puerto Rico, the Island’s Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), held their April Industry Update, providing relevant information about the tourism industry and the future economic recovery of the Island. Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi joined the Discover Puerto Rico team to provide his support to this important sector, emphasizing the importance of working together to revive the jobs that have been lost due to the pandemic.

 

“It gives me hope to see that the vaccination is now available to everyone older than 16 on the Island, meaning that soon we will see a reduction of cases and a decrease of the contagion rate. Discover Puerto Rico is poised to lead the economic recovery of our Island, surpassing 2019 record numbers and reviving the tourism sector which we desperately need,” expressed Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico.

 

There has been pent-up demand for travel throughout the past 13 months. The consumer tracking sentiment by DMO partner, Destination Analysts, shows that 66.6% of Americans are ready to travel. Because Discover Puerto Rico has been disseminating to consumers a health and safety message, the Island has been seeing those “ready to travel” consumers arriving to the destination.

 

The occupancy of the Island is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. Starting the week of March 14, occupancy was at 76%, which is off just one point from the week of March 1, 2020 and just three points from the same week in 2019, a record-breaking year for visitation to Puerto Rico. It is especially encouraging that not only has occupancy improved dramatically, but the average daily rate (ADR) is also improving. Data shows that the marketing Discover Puerto Rico has placed with CARES Act funding since the beginning of 2021 is influencing ADR. The DMO’s data partners at Adara track hotel bookings after consumers have been exposed to our paid media. Year-to-date, the average rate that visitors are paying after being exposed to Discover Puerto Rico’s advertising is $290, which is 31% higher than the average year-to-date ADR of $222.

 

One of the requirements of the CARES Act funding is to focus the messaging on health and safety. This campaign has been in the market for three months and has already posted positive results.

 

Since the initial launch of the CARES Act campaign, we have seen 4x revenue in hotel bookings from Adara Impact. And since January 1st, Arrivalist lift has risen to nearly 75%, meaning those who are exposed to our advertising are 75% more likely to arrive on-Island.”, expressed Leah Chandler, CMO of Discover Puerto Rico. Chandler also noted that the DMO is revisiting their when selecting target markets. “We are now evolving that formula to include vaccination rates, to even further prioritize markets where we can reach responsible travelers,” stated Chandler.

 

The demand trends are also being seen in the meetings, incentive, conventions and events (MICE) segment. Everyday, meeting and travel advisors are requesting new dates. The DMO’s group lead volume began to improve dramatically around the second week of January vs. last year. From January 2021 to April 3, the DMO has generated a total of 171,535 group room leads and confirmed more than 9,500 definite rooms for roughly $8.1M in economic impact for the Island. The lead volume has nearly doubled each month since the beginning of the year. Leads generated in March were 237% higher than those generated in January.

 

“Seeing these results keeps us hopeful that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and that the tourism sector of the Island will revive stronger than ever. The decisions made by the local government and Discover Puerto Rico since the beginning of the pandemic are producing results, and that’s why travelers are feeling ready to enjoy our beautiful Island.,” finalized Dean.

 

 

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