Opening tourism operations in June proposed

Lawmaker seeks to ‘save the second half of this year before it is too late’ for related businesses

SAN JUAN – The representative for Carolina and spokesperson for the Tourism Committee in the House, Ángel Matos García, proposed Monday, June 1, as the start date for tourist operations on the island, following all the precautions and guidelines submitted by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (CTPR by its Spanish initials) and the food industry in general.

“It has been a very difficult 2020 year for the tourism and food industry on the island, since the beginning of the year with the series of earthquakes and now with the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is time to launch all the new safety guidelines and save the second half of this year before it is too late and workplaces are closed permanently,” the lawmaker said in a statement.

He indicated that the CTPR, the Hotel and Tourism Association, the Restaurant Association and the Retail Business Association have submitted safety and health guidelines that include compulsory use of face masks, hand sanitizer stations, time and space controls in restaurants and bars, and extreme sanitary guidelines for the operation of hotels and game rooms.

“It is time to start limited operations and save tourism as much as possible. There are businesses within days of closing permanently; however, opening local summer tourism, they can begin to re-employ jobs that have not yet received any help from the government,” Matos García said.

He also said that, on June 1, restaurant operations must start at 50 percent capacity, the use of common areas such as swimming pools and beach access should be allowed to promote stays in the local market and entertainment centers that do not gather large numbers of people and have the commercial space to maintain distance between patrons.

The representative proposes a 90-day trial with adjustments as the weeks progress.

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