“The stability we have achieved over the past three years has been one of the hallmarks of my administration,” assures confidently Mr. Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico. Indeed, since 2021, Puerto Rico’s known blend of Caribbean charm and American influence has received an important economic push, and today it stands strong with consistent economic growth, the lowest unemployment rate in its history (at 5.7%), and around 124,000 new jobs, an 11% increase in an economy that totals 1.1 million employments. These remarkable achievements are clear indicators of the island’s economic resilience in the face of major natural challenges (such as Hurricane Maria in 2017, several earthquakes in 2020, and Hurricane Fiona in 2022), as well as the efforts put in place by both the government and the private sector to emerge as one of the Americas’ most significant manufacturing hubs, to diversify its tourism sector, and to promote sustainability by developing its infrastructure and investing in renewable energies.

On the one hand, Puerto Rico’s manufacturing sector has been consistently growing and evolving to the point where today it constitutes the island’s largest industry, representing 43% of its GDP and producing over $48 billion in 2022. Its particular emphasis on pharmaceutical manufacturing currently places it as the #1 bioscience manufacturing hub in the United States, with 75% of FDA Class III device manufacturers produced there. Together with the chemical and allied products manufacturing, this subdivision alone generated around $29 billion in net income in 2022, according to Invest Puerto Rico. “Our manufacturing industry is highly sophisticated, with Puerto Rico hosting 12 of the top 20 biopharma companies and 7 of the top 10 medical device manufacturers in the world,” states Governor Pierluisi.

Other manufacturing sub-industries showing exponential growth and significant revenues are machinery, which produced $273 million in net income in 2022 and experienced a net income growth of 101% since 2018; the apparel and related products, almost doubling its net income between 2018 and 2022; textile mill products (66% growth); wood products (64% growth); and fabricated metal products (49% growth). Such increases have earned Puerto Rico global recognition for its skilled workforce and adeptness in optimizing manufacturing processes in a wide variety of industries, such as the military, aerospace, automotive, and medical, among others. For instance, as Governor Pierluisi explains, “Puerto Rican engineers hold esteemed reputations worldwide, so we have attracted major U.S. aeronautical firms to establish their product design operations here.”

On the other hand, even though tourism has been booming in recent years, Puerto Rico is also placing great efforts in diversifying its tourism offer. Since 95% of visitors come from the United States, they are actively seeking to increase their international visitor base to ensure broader recognition and reduce the existing gap in connectivity from cities outside the U.S. Thus, they are expanding flight services by establishing daily year-round flights with countries like Spain, especially since Madrid has emerged as a vital gateway for European tourists traveling to Puerto Rico; and by reinstating direct flight services from London and Frankfurt, which were previously available. At the regional level, they’ve strengthened connections to several cities in Colombia, which is rapidly becoming a key player in their tourism industry; and while direct flights to Cancun are already available, they also plan to establish direct routes to San Juan from Mexico City. “Our objective is to diversify our tourism offer. We want Puerto Rico to be celebrated worldwide, not to remain a hidden gem,” states Governor Pierluisi.