House Tourism Commission questions Discover Puerto Rico on budget, marketing and sustainability

The Commission of Tourism of the House of Representatives met May 15 to hear testimony from Discover Puerto Rico (the island's destination marketing organization) on visitor growth, budget sources and marketing strategy.

Discover Puerto Rico officials — Raúl Bustamante (interim chair of the board), Fernando Rodríguez (chief financial officer and interim CEO) and Ricardo Cortés (vice president of public affairs) — presented industry metrics, described marketing activities at home and abroad, and answered questions from representatives about funding, municipal engagement and sustainability.

Why it matters: Discover Puerto Rico is funded largely by dedicated tourism taxes and has been the principal public body coordinating destination marketing since Law 17 of 2017 established the DMO. Lawmakers pressed the agency on how public dollars translate into economic returns, how the DMO reaches small businesses and municipalities across all 78 municipalities, and what measures the organization takes to protect natural assets that underpin the island's tourism product.

Key figures and claims

Fernando Rodríguez said the island received about 6.9 million visitors in 2024 and that arrivals and spending have grown substantially since 2018: “Se estima que unos 6.9 1000000 de visitantes llegaron a Puerto Rico en el…