Puerto Ricans Experience Economic Growth

The Puerto Rican government may be struggling financially, but that is not necessarily true of the Puerto Rican people. The tourism industry is experiencing economic growth as more and more cruise ships pour into Old San Juan every day. The influx of tourists is having a positive impact on restaurants, shops, taxi drivers, tour operators, and artisans.

A few of years ago, Old San Juan reconstructed it’s old Pier 3 to be able to accommodate the largest cruise ships on the seas and increase their capacity to have up to 7 cruise ships docked at any given time. This move is really starting to pay off for the tourism industry. Since then this pier has been host to all the largest mega-cruise ships in the world, some of which are capable of holding as many as 6,000 passengers at a time. Economic growth has been in the millions and the pier has more than paid off.

This year the city estimates a whopping 1.7 million tourists will dock in Old San Juan’s piers. The growth of the tourism industry means new business opportunities and more available jobs for it’s citizens.

If you would like to read more about the impact cruise ships are making in Puerto Rico’s economy, here are two good articles you can check out:

San Juan Receives Record Number of Cruise Ship Passengers

Puerto Rico Governor Welcomes World’s Largest Cruise Ship