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 año 2024,” and the agency reported a 64% increase in visitors and a 92% increase in visitor spending compared with 2018. Rodríguez and other presenters attributed longer stays, higher spending and more arrivals to consistent destination marketing since the DMO's creation.

On public funding, Discover Puerto Rico told the commission its funding package for the current fiscal year totals about $58 million. That number combines the statutory allocation of $25 million plus $5 million (a 25+5 arrangement established by law), an allocation from the Fiscal Oversight Board and some federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds that had supplemented the budget in prior years. The DMO said it expects roughly $59 million for the next fiscal year, a decline from the augmented level it had during the ARP-funded period.

The agency said about 87% of its budget is directed to sales, marketing and promotion; salary and benefits account for roughly 11% of the budget and the DMO’s payroll expense is about $7.4 million. On return, the presenters reported that for every $1 invested in Discover Puerto Rico the island receives an estimated $58 in economic impact and $6 in room-tax receipts.

Markets, campaigns and partnerships

Discover Puerto Rico said it runs campaigns across 25 U.S. markets and in several international markets including Spain, Colombia, the U.K., Canada, Mexico and exploratory activity in Germany, Italy, Ireland, Brazil and Argentina. The agency said it participates in FITUR and other trade shows and provided an example that it invested about $100,000 in a FITUR activation in Spain.

Officials described a “multidestino” initiative negotiated with the Dominican Republic under the brand “Caribe somos nosotros” to market both destinations together in select markets; Discover Puerto Rico said creative and material production are underway but full execution had not yet begun.

Local engagement and small businesses

Discover Puerto Rico leaders said they maintain an “engagement and local communications” division that visits municipalities and runs outreach events for small and medium businesses. Ricardo Cortés described services available to merchants — free business profiles, promotional listings, media and influencer visits, and access to a photo/video library — and said most DMO services are free to merchants, with paid placement limited to advertising inventory. Representatives from several districts pressed for more in-person outreach and for clearer pathways for small businesses to access DMO promotion.

Sustainability and visitor safety

The DMO said it does not hold regulatory authority over coastal or land-use development but that it has adopted sustainability as a marketing value and recently launched a microsite called “The Green Path” to highlight sustainable tourism products. The agency also described public-education efforts, including “Return the Love” and a drowning-prevention initiative called “Watch the Waves,” aimed at orienting visitors on safety and responsible conduct.

Follow-ups and requests from lawmakers

Representative Suani Vargas Laureano asked the agency to provide results from exploratory international market work and copies/links to country- and state-level campaign materials. Discover Puerto Rico agreed to provide the requested campaign materials, links and exploratory-market results; the commission recorded a request that these materials be delivered to the committee within five days.

No formal votes were taken. The hearing concluded after question-and-answer rounds with members of the commission and public requests for additional documentation; the chair closed the session at 10:36 a.m.

Ending: The commission asked Discover Puerto Rico to supply campaign materials and market results for the record and indicated it will review those materials at a subsequent meeting. Discover Puerto Rico said it would provide additional documents and make staff available for follow-up questions.