Narayan AmmachchiPuerto Rico, still recovering from the devastating 2017 hurricane, has taken the number one slot at The New York Times’ index of ‘52 Places to Go’ in 2019.
Most of the tourist sites on the island are fully or partially opened, according to the US daily. More than anything else, the country has become a magnet for cruise liners heading to the Caribbean with loads of tourists on board.
Thanks to the cruise ship traffic, hotel room occupancy is just climbing up. However, the paper says, airports in the country have not returned to normal yet.
But those were not the major reasons for the paper to rank the unincorporated US territory as the number one spot for tourists to visit this year.
The tropical island is predicted to become the victim of global warming and the resultant rise in sea water levels.
“…Puerto Rico is representative of the many fragile places around the globe right now ..,” writes the Times’ housing reporter Mireya Navarro in an article aimed at answering the reason for selecting Puerto Rico.
“That is why Puerto Rico earned the No. 1 spot on our annual list of 52 Places to visit in the coming year. The island, and the other beautiful destinations now at risk raise an urgent question: Do we owe something to the places that make us happy?”
Some tour operators interviewed by the paper confirm that bookings are picking up at a greater pace.
Tourism is the key revenue earner for many countries in the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. Analysts say the island’s economy may get back on its feet if foreign tourists continue to throng its resorts and sun-baked beaches.
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