Puerto Rico is open for business and eager to welcome all visitors.
That's the message from tourism officials and hospitality executives, who emphasize that virtually the entire island is operating at normal peak levels, from the airport to the roads and resorts.
Unfortunately, many would-be visitors think otherwise.
Puerto Rico was hit by an onslaught of trip cancellations after a period of seismic activity, which began Dec. 28 and included a magnitude-6.4 earthquake on Jan. 7 that was followed by numerous aftershocks. Mainstream news outlets showed collapsed buildings and people seeking shelter in tents. Travelers thought the island was ravaged and canceled trips, when, in reality, the temblors affected just a small part on the Southwest side.
"Ninety-eight percent of the island had zero damage," said Nils Stolzlechner, general manager of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort. "The airport never closed, yet everybody stateside thought we were in bad shape."
The situation was serious enough that Discover Puerto Rico, the island's destination marketing organization, rolled out a new campaign, #GoForPuertoRico, to encourage travel to the Island following the seismic activity.
I visited for three days last week, staying at the Wyndham, which is on the East Coast of Puerto Rico. This area is home to numerous beachfront resorts, top-rated golf courses, and El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest Service.
We saw no earthquake damage or experienced any disruptions. In fact, the Puerto Rico Open, a PGA Tour event, took place last week at the nearby Grand Reserve at Coco Beach golf course.
On the day I arrived, I saw four big cruise ships docked at Old San Juan. The weather was sunny and in the low 80s, the skies were blue, and the golf courses in beautiful shape. Puerto Rico is an easy plane ride away from much of the U.S. mainland - often just three or four hours to the beautiful year-round climate.
Puerto Rico is an accessible tropical Caribbean destination, and since it's a U.S. territory, no passports are required. Visitors zip through the airport and quickly are on their way. There's no currency to exchange, and pretty much everyone in the tourism industry speaks English, an official language along with Spanish. You don't even need an international calling plan for your cell phone!
This is not to discount the people who suffered from the earthquakes; their need is real, and recovery continues.
But to avoid Puerto Rico in its entirety will only compound the damage to an island that has already emerged from the horrific damage inflicted by the one-two punch of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. Travel agents can learn more about the island at the Travel Agent Academy course.
There's no reason to postpone or cancel travel to Puerto Rico. In fact, I'm already thinking about my return trip and can't wait to go back!
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