Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
But I will be perfectly Frank.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I hadn't been hearing about probably a little over ten years,
and I did.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Not know what to expect. And we have had the
best time.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
And joining me now and I've been working a lot
and we've so had the best time. And joining me
now is Sarah Sella Denton. She's to be the director
of Puerto Rican Tourism Company and is now on the
board of Discovered Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Taracella, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
First of all, nice to be here and nice to
have you in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well, you know, I'm guessing tourism is pretty important to
Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
What kind of impact is tourism?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Is it is up to ten percent of our GDP,
and were employing more than ninety thousand people, and is
you know we have up to five million visitors a
year and one point seven are from cruise ships. So, oh, well,
we are an island, we are very well located, and
(00:56):
we are we have the flavor of the Latin American
and his but also the safety and the good things
about the US.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I used the phrase earlier. It feels familiar.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
It's not exactly like it is in the States. But
there's a familiarity to being here that it gives you
a little more comfort, a little more ease, and getting around.
You don't feel like you're going to get into a
situation that you're not quite sure how to get out of.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
And our main market comes from the US. It's because
our location. You don't need a passport to come here.
So it is very very well connected to New York,
to Miami, to Boston, to Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
And we have many of the early a.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Non stop from Denver.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
So first I have to say hi and to greet
the people from Denver and to invite them to come
to Puerto Rico because really they will have an incredible
time here.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Well, and I have to say, the beaches are a draw,
but what else do people come to Puerto Rico four?
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Where do they come from?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
You know? When I was executive director of the tourism company,
I developed a campaign that was called Explore Beyond the Shore.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
I was inviting.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
People to go from other places to decentralize the tourism
from the metropolitan area. Because one of the things that
we have that no other island has is the infrastructure,
the highway.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
You can go from one.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Place to the other very easy, very safe, and you
can really go around the island two hours to conset
to the southern part of the island is more desert,
you know, it's more dry, but it is very different
from San Juan. Is more like colorful. And you have
(02:51):
the western part of the island. The beaches there are incredible,
the best sunsets you have places like in corn is
more La back. People from the US came from the
nineteen sixties and they established their houses and surfing spots
right in Rincon. And so we have these incredible treasures all.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Around the island.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So I promoted that people should go to state Insan
Juan two or three days or four days and then
go and explore the island, to rent a car, to
go outside, to go to the mountains.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
You have places for you know, something that we are
very famous is our astronomy.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yes, so we have taken advantage of the gastronomy all
week long. We have gastronized our way through Puerto Rico.
I have eaten in the last three nights three whole snappers.
Because you cannot get fished that fresh, that perfect it
is in Colorado. It's impossible because we don't pull it
out of the ocean and then put it on place.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
We don't do that here, but you have Fos outland.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
You have places, you know around in the center of
the island that they were like the places for.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
The Tainos Indians.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And you have heeroglyphs and petroglyphs, and you can really
adventure and go to these nature parks and nature reserves
of the Kotora perto Ricana, the Puerto Rican parrot, and
so you have many things to see in these small island,
(04:37):
but rich in nature, in ecoturism, in adventure, and we
have our beautiful beaches.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
It's our main attraction.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
But because we have culture, because we have gastronomy, because
we have nature, we always say you need to really
explore the island.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Well, I know that my colleague Nerve from ninety three
eight point three are our sister station. He and his
family have done some really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Stuff this week.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
They've gone into caves, and they like ocean caves where
they come to the other side and then they have
this gorgeous view of everything and they've had an absolute
blast because his schedule has allowed him to do a
little bit more. And I think that to your point. I.
My husband and I travel a lot, so we've been
to a lot of Caribbean islands. We've been to a
lot of places. And this has a feel of when
(05:25):
you go to a Hawaiian island.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Each part of the island is distinctly different.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
And you wouldn't think that, yeah, you'll have different islands also, right,
you have a right of islands and you have rabiecs
that are these little islands that are beautiful. He's like
going back in times.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Going to these little hidden gems.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yes, yes they are. And he's more laid back. It's
what you think about a beach, the estination.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
If it's more laid back than San Juan, are people
just lying on the beach just passed because they one
is super la. We are more you know, we are
the capital city, so we feel that we are more
up to beat.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Than in other parts of the island.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
But when you go to Cule, you go to pis
you really can feel a difference.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
You feel like you are in another place.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
And it's Puerto Rico also, but it's smaller and the
people are very friendly and you can go around in
a jeep. You can rent a jeep and go around
the island and you will see the island and we'll
know everyone in two days. So it's one of the
(06:46):
for me, is my favorite place to go when I
really need to detox, to go outside and really have
a good time. And in the island you go to Rincon,
you go in the southern part of Juanica that we
have like a desert tropical forest, so we really.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Have everything, like you could have a different vacation every day.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
You can go skiing.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
No, no, let me ask you this though, because I
had an article on my blog earlier this week about
crime in the Caribbean. Overalls has risen on some of
these islands pretty dramatically.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
What do people need to worry about in Puerto Rico, Well.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They they need to really be have a near you know,
in what is happening in the island. There are places
that are more safer than others, like in any other place.
But I have to say that the municipality the state
police are working together and we don't have that much
(07:50):
criminality as it says, you know, in the news. So
if there's something that I really recommend.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
People is if they go to stay.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
On Rbnb or in a hotel, ask you know, right people,
the host or the hostess or the people at the concert,
where I should go and where I shouldn't right, So
they need to really ask.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
And I wanted to ask one LA's question because we're
amost out of time.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Why should people come to Puerto.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Rico because it's the best silent in the city.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
It is it is. You want to think about that
very solid. You want to give it a moment just
before you.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
I'm very passionate about my island. I'm very proud of
my people, and we work, you know, with the tourism
industry for many years now. I'm very happy that we
diversify the truism offer. So we have the short term rentals,
we have clumping, we have you know, trailers, You will
(08:53):
have many places that you can go and really have
a different adventure.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
If you're from the corporate sector, you have it.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
If you are a family, you have different places.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Thro So we have everything for everyone.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Terracel Agent and I really appreciate your time, and we
have had a last We're for sure coming back to
Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
We've really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
It has been I'm gonna say it's been very surprising,
very surprised.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
In the best possible way.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Well, I hope to see many people from Denver, all right,
I want credit for all of them.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
If whoever comes here from Denver, just like at the border,
be like, okay, that's one for Andy Connell.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
There you go, my stelf. I have an AIRBMBS I yeah,
so go RBMB. I've been promoting my my short term rental.
You know what, do it.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Terra Clodentine, thank you so much. We'll be back right
after this. Keep it on, Ka