Cheap, Abundant Airlift Fueling Continued Puerto Rico Tourism Surge

Cheap, abundant airlift has been the not-so-secret sauce to Puerto Rico’s dramatic tourism rebound since the pandemic, and it’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing down. 

Last month, passenger traffic at San Juan’s air hub of Luis Munoz Marin International Airport worse by another 9.4 percent compared to April 2023, with total traffic at 1.034 million. 

The island continues to see new flights from cities across the mainland United States (and, increasingly from international markets like Spain and the Dominican Republic), and the flights are, well, full. 

Indeed, international traffic was strong as well last month, with traffic of 108,512 from international markets to Puerto Rico last month, itself a 9.2 percent increase. (For the year, international traffic is up 19.2 percent)

For the year, passenger traffic at Luis Munoz Marin is at 4.296 million, an 11.5 percent increase compared to the first four months of last year, according to data provided by ASUR, which manages Puerto Rico’s primary airport. 

Most of the growth from the mainland US Market in Puerto Rico has come on carriers like Frontier, which has made Puerto Rico a priority in its Caribbean expansion — and, more recently, positioned itself as a new international air hub within the Caribbean.