In the weeks following the March 2020 pandemic outbreak, officials at Discover Puerto Rico (DPR), the territory’s destination marketing organization, presented potential travelers with a wholly unfamiliar message: plan another time to visit the territory.

“Puerto Rico never really closed down” following the outbreak, said Brad Dean, DPR’s CEO. “But if you go back and look at our promotional strategy, our message for a period of time was, ‘It’s not time to visit. All in good time.’”

That stance, along with other early key decisions made by Dean, DPR and Puerto Rico’s government and health officials following the outbreak, now loom as precursors to the visitor surge the U.S. territory is now experiencing.

Over time, DPR modified the “don’t come now” message, Dean said. “We graduated to ‘It’s time to plan,’” he said. “And then when we were ready, we said, ‘It’s time to visit.’ And boy did the visitors come back.”

Rocketing Arrivals

Travel data confirms Dean’s account as travelers flowed back onto the island this summer. Puerto Rico’s visitor arrivals rocketed from 135,146 during pandemic-stricken July 2020 to 553,554 in July 2021, eclipsing the all-time monthly record of 512,796 visitors, achieved in June 2021.

DPR officials also reported year-to-date lodging revenue for July 2021 that surpassed all previous records, with both the highest hotel revenue and independent rental revenue ever recorded.

Overall, Puerto Rico’s July 2021 hotel revenue exceeded $101 million for the first time, and during the week of Aug. 21, the average daily hotel rate was $254, 44 percent above the same week in 2019.

“I think [the pandemic] really challenged all of us as promoters to align with our community and with our health officials to make sure we were delivering the right information and recognizing that there would be a time to travel,” said Dean.

“We’re doing better today than we ever could have thought six months ago.”

Committed to Culture

DPR focused on raising the destination’s international profile by spotlighting not only historic San Juan as the city celebrates the 500th anniversary of its founding this year, but on the island’s under-explored regions and cultures.

Earlier this year DPR launched programs to encourage travelers to trace Puerto Rico’s African influences via a variety of sites, activities and exhibits focused on fine art, gastronomy and live performances drawn from its African heritage.

“African heritage is at the core of the continental American experience,” said Dr. Torres Muñoz, director of the Instituto Interdisciplinario y Multicultural General Studies Faculty at the University of Puerto Rico.

“From North America to Central and South America and the Caribbean, our African descendance is the thread that unites us to all the nations of the Americas.”

Several of Puerto Rico’s fine art museums feature permanent African culture exhibitions, including The Museo de Arte de Ponce, Museo De Las Americas and Museo de Historia de Caguas. The Samuel Lind Studio in Loiza, situated on the island’s northeast coast, is dedicated to artwork based on Puerto Rico’s African influences.

Located within a short drive of the San Juan colonial district, Loiza features Puerto Rico’s largest Black population, a legacy of its 16th-century settlement by Yoruba people from the West African countries of Nigeria, Benin and Togo. Loiza is celebrated for its Afro-Puerto Rican music, art, dance and culinary traditions.

That legacy extends to gastronomy, as several popular Puerto Rican dishes, including mofongo, bacalaitos and pasteles, are based on African cuisine. Travelers can sample authentic African-influenced fare at El Burén de Lula, a James Beard-recognized eatery in Loiza.

Birthday Blast

DPR is also coordinating a series of art exhibits, parades, academic forums and concerts between September and June 2022 to celebrate the city’s 500th anniversary.

The U.S.’s oldest city, established in 1521 as a Spanish military settlement, features numerous iconic structures from the period, including the stone wall surrounding a portion of the city, Old San Juan’s cobblestone streets and the El Castillo de San Felipe del Morro.

Additionally, Teatro Tapia, billed as the oldest free-standing theater still in use, was built in 1832. The Casa Blanca Museum was built in 1521 as the residence of legendary Puerto Rico governor Juan Ponce de León. The San Juan Bautista Cathedral, also from 1521, houses Ponce de León’s remains and those of first-century Roman martyr Saint Pius. Hotel El Convento dates from 1651, when it was established as a Carmelite convent.

Peer Recognition

DPR and Puerto Rico’s tourism success this year has not gone unnoticed among Dean’s peers and colleagues. In August he was named the U.S. Travel Association’s (USTA) State Tourism Director of the Year for 2021.

In presenting the award, USTA President and CEO Roger Dow cited Dean not only for his work in 2021, but for when the destination faced the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria in late 2017, only a month before he joined DPR.

“Since taking the lead of the destination marketing organization in 2018, [he] has guided the island’s tourism industry through a remarkable period of recovery and growth following various setbacks from hurricanes to the pandemic,” said Dow. “It is truly impressive the way Brad has excelled in understanding the culture and spirit of Puerto Rico and how to position it to attract travelers.”

“As a leader you get too much credit when things go well,” Dean said recently. “I’ve been really, really fortunate and blessed first and foremost to represent great people and a great destination.

“I’m surrounded by a team at Discover Puerto Rico who are just so passionate,” he continued. “They show up every day, good or bad, with a passion and excitement to share their island with the world.”

Dean said the award in fact points to travel’s “transformative power,” and how “when we align together, private sector and public sector, and work to make tourism part of the solution, it changes lives and shapes communities”

He added, “It reminds us of just how important travel and tourism is, not just to our island, but to our country and our world.”

'Return to Love'

Aiming to maintain Puerto Rico’s carefully fashioned health and safety protocols and practices, Discover Puerto Rico (DPR) launched “Return the Love,” a campaign designed to encourage visitors to the island to behave responsibly and safely.

Campaign signage posted throughout Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport features diverse Puerto Rico natural and cultural attractions while also encouraging travelers to “return the love” to Puerto Rico through social distancing, mask-wearing and other responsible behaviors.

“As we continue to see record [arrivals] in the past months, we knew that the ‘Return the Love’ messaging was an important step that we needed to make,” said Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean.

Another DPR program, “Population: YOU,” showcases eight of the island’s lesser-known natural wonders.

“While we continue inviting tourists to visit and enjoy the wonders of the island, we want them to return the love by showing Puerto Rico their best side too, by wearing their masks, practicing social distancing and leaving the island’s nature as they found it.”