The spread of the Zika virus has wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico’s tourism sector, causing numerous trip cancellations and impacting businesses’ revenues, as well as highlighting the need for travel insurance.
Puerto Rico is the hardest-hit area by Zika in the U.S., as over 1,170 cases have been confirmed, with one death and the first microcephaly case acquired on U.S. territory.
While the true number of people who cancelled their plans to visit Puerto Rico is unknown, at least 42,000 hotel room reservations have been cancelled, extending until 2018. That’s $28 million in lost revenue for the lodging, restaurant, and tours industry, according to Ingrid Rivera, executive director of Puerto Rico's Tourism Co.
"Cancellations left and right and up and down," said Luis Alvarez Perez, owner of a luxury travel firm in San Juan in an interview with CBS News. "People just stopped coming."
Sporting events have also been affected. Major League Baseball cancelled a two-game series between Miami Marlins and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tourism officials said that this cancellation cost the tropical territory $4.5m in lost revenue.
USA Swimming also cancelled its July training camp and a number of people have called off their attendance of an international boxing event scheduled for October.
Tourism makes up only 7% of Puerto Rico’s economy, but it was growing in the past 10 years, making it a sole bright spot. Other industries were hit by recession and the government battled huge levels of public debt.
With unforeseen circumstances such as this Zika outbreak, it is important that travellers have for a cancellation travel insurance policy to cover for any expenses in case they need to put off going on a trip, especially if it’s for their own safety.
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