Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico, but now the island is back in business

In Puerto Rico, the lights are on in Old San Juan — for the most part.

That’s not necessarily the case for thousands of other people and businesses on the island, which is still grappling with the impact of Hurricane Maria, the worst hurricane in its history. But many of the island’s tourist attractions are open again.

Puerto Rico’s tourism leaders have been working to spread the word.

“We will never forget what happened six months ago, but we certainly don’t need to be reminded of it with past or inaccurate portrayals of the situation which could negatively impact someone’s decision to visit Puerto Rico,” said Carla Campos, acting executive director of the government-owned Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), in a statement.

In the regions most visited by tourists — including Ponce, La Parguera, Rincón, Cabo Rojo and Luquillo — many hotels have reopened, restaurants are serving customers and the streets have been mostly cleared of debris. But in the neighborhoods outside the tourism hubs, damaged trees, downed power lines and shuttered businesses are commonplace.

Since Hurricane Maria struck on Sept. 20, 83 percent of the 15,000 hotel rooms endorsed by the PRTC have reopened, Campos said. Still, demand to visit Puerto Rico remains soft, down 8.4 percent in February over the year before, according to the most recent numbers from data and analytics firm STR. And many rooms are occupied by first responders staying on the island for extended periods of time.

Several major resorts, such as El Conquistador, Caribe Hilton and Ritz-Carlton San Juan, remain shuttered.

But good news is on the horizon: An additional 3,800 rooms will be added next year thanks to new hotel openings from JW Marriott, ALOFT San Juan Convention Center, ALOFT Ponce, Four Seasons Cayo Largo and O:LV Fifty Five. In the San Juan area alone, 11 new properties are slated to open in 2019. The openings began late last month, when the 96-room Serafina Beach Hotel debuted in the Condado district of San Juan.

Puerto Rico has also received a critical assist from the cruise industry.

After the hurricanes, cruise lines pumped more than $30 million into relief efforts. The Caribbean is important for the industry, accounting for 35.4 percent of the global deployment capacity market share in 2017, according to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association. Some of the region’s most popular ports were hit by Irma, Maria or both. But among them, Puerto Rico was the only port that was also a homeport, where cruises begin and end their journeys. Getting it and the airport running will help keep Puerto Rico afloat as the land-based infrastructure is rebuilt.

“If we don’t go to Puerto Rico, even destinations that weren’t affected are going to be affected,” said Michele Paige, president of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.

So in the winter, 14 vessels started homeporting in San Juan — four more than the previous season. They included Royal Caribbean International’s Freedom of the Seas, the Windstar Pride, Silverseas’ Silver Wind and Viking Sea. The airport is back in operation and expects to return to pre-Maria levels by the end of the summer.

Tours are also operating, with more than more than 100 day excursions available, Campos said. They include excursions to Cueva Ventana, Toro Verde, El Morro and Bacardi. The island territory is hoping to break its cruise passenger record with 1.7 million visitors in 2018.

“This has been one of the biggest challenges the tourism industry has faced to this day,” Campos said. “No destination is ever ready to face two back-to-back- storms like Irma and Maria.”

This story was originally published April 16, 2018 at 1:04 AM.