Puerto Rico to ‘Officially’ Open its Doors Dec. 20

Puerto Rico has celebrated some major tourism milestones as recovery efforts continue following Hurricanes Irma and Maria and will “officially” open its doors to travellers on Dec. 20.

Recovery milestones include:

• San Juan is open for business. The historic walking and bike tours are up-and-running through the signature cobblestone streets, the Condado and Santurce areas are bustling with nightlife, and more than 100 hotels and over 1,718 incredible restaurants are operational and welcoming new visitors.
• Cruising: While Royal Caribbean resumed homeport in San Juan back on Oct. 7, on Nov. 30, the island welcomed over 7,000 cruisers, the first batch of passengers following the hurricanes. Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas and Carnival Conquest passengers were greeted with an extremely warm welcome – Puerto Rican style. Festivities ranged from free salsa classes, rum and coquito tastings, to traditional BatuPlena percussion bands, artisan markets, street performers, children fairs and much more. In November and December, an estimated 58 cruise arrivals will be greeted in San Juan resulting in 110,000-plus passengers, and an economic impact of roughly $25 million.
• Hotels: There’s more than 100-plus hotels taking reservations on the island. The iconic El San Juan hotel, with a lobby constantly live with salsa, re-opened its doors much sooner than anticipated. A new hotel, the Hotel Solace by The Sea, former Quality Inn, also opened in Ponce with 102 new rooms.