Puerto Rico will be the Partner Destination of FITUR 2027, giving the Caribbean island a major international platform to present its tourism offer, strengthen ties with European markets and promote new opportunities for tourism investment and business.
The announcement was made at the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid’s Retiro Park ahead of the 47th edition of FITUR, the International Tourism Trade Fair, which will take place at IFEMA MADRID from 20 to 24 January 2027. The presentation brought together Willianette Robles, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company; Jose Vicente de los Mozos, Chairman of the Executive Committee of IFEMA MADRID; Maria Valcarce, Director of FITUR; and Jorge L. Perez, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico.
For Puerto Rico, the partnership comes as the island reports strong recent growth in tourism. According to the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, its three main international airports handled 14.5 million passengers last year. The island also recorded more than 1.82 million cruise arrivals to its ports, a figure reached one month before the end of the current fiscal year.
Robles described the FITUR partnership as an opportunity to present the range of experiences available across the island while building stronger connections with the European market. She said the participation would also support opportunities for business, investment and further growth within Puerto Rico’s tourism industry.
The island will use its presence at FITUR to highlight a tourism offer built around its Caribbean culture, natural environment, gastronomy, music and history. Puerto Rico has hundreds of kilometres of coastline, while historic areas such as Old San Juan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, provide another important part of its tourism identity.
The destination’s presentation at FITUR 2027 will go beyond a conventional exhibition stand. Puerto Rico plans to create a space designed to give visitors a more direct sense of the island, bringing together elements of its culture, creativity and contemporary identity.
The approach reflects the destination’s wider effort to present Puerto Rico through experiences rather than simply through a list of attractions. Its tourism proposition combines its Caribbean heritage with nature, food, music and the character of its communities.
FITUR is expected to provide Puerto Rico with access to tourism professionals, destinations, travel companies and other industry representatives from international markets. The island’s participation will also give its tourism authorities an opportunity to promote commercial relationships and investment alongside consumer-facing destination marketing.
Robles said Puerto Rico wants visitors to the FITUR stand to understand the island beyond its role as a holiday destination. She highlighted its culture, gastronomy, history and the hospitality of its people as central elements of the experience the island wants to communicate to the international market.
For IFEMA MADRID, Puerto Rico’s role as Partner Destination adds a Caribbean destination with a strong cultural and natural tourism offer to the 2027 edition of the fair. Jose Vicente de los Mozos said the organisation was pleased to welcome Puerto Rico and noted the island’s recent tourism growth.
FITUR 2027 will therefore give Puerto Rico a high-profile setting in Madrid to present its tourism ambitions at a time when the island is reporting record passenger and cruise figures. Its role as Partner Destination places the island at the centre of one of the international tourism industry’s major annual meetings, with the focus extending from destination promotion to business, investment and international market development.
