Puerto Rico (US): International tourism, expenditures (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Puerto Rico (US)'s international tourism, expenditures (current US$) fell 16.7% on 2017 (from US$1.07 billion to US$893 million).

Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +0% and a typical year strayed about 8.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.7% in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 21.2% in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is downward, about US$39.55 million a year. A straight line explains 80% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2018, Puerto Rico (US) had the 7th highest value of the 15 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Puerto Rico (US) in the 2018 ranking

• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4th of 15: US$9.27 billion
• New Zealand — 5th of 15: US$4.6 billion
• Libya — 6th of 15: US$2.04 billion
• Brunei Darussalam — 8th of 15: US$585 million
• Senegal — 9th of 15: US$324 million
• Mali — 10th of 15: US$255 million

What this measures

International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Expenditure associated with the activity of international visitors has been traditionally identified with the travel item of the Balance of Payments (BOP).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 24 values

International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in nearby economies

• Argentina — US$2.75 billion (2020)
• Aruba — US$310 million (2020)
• Bahamas, The — US$166 million (2020)
• Barbados — US$99 million (2016)
• Belize — US$22.04 million (2020)
• Bolivia — US$325 million (2020)
• Brazil — US$6.49 billion (2020)
• Cayman Islands — US$299 million (2019)
• Chile — US$720 million (2020)
• Colombia

More private sector & trade data for Puerto Rico (US)

• International tourism, number of arrivals — 3.88 million (2020)
• International tourism, receipts (current US$) — US$2.92 billion (2020)
• International tourism, expenditures for passenger transport items (current US$) — US$301 million (2018)
• International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) — US$592 million (2018)
• International tourism, number of departures — 792,000 (2017)

Every indicator for Puerto Rico (US) is on the Puerto Rico (US) data page.

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Puerto Rico (US)'s international tourism, expenditures (current US$)?

US$893 million in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is down 22.68% from US$1.16 billion in 1995 (1.11% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.76 billion in 2008 and the lowest US$893 million in 2018.

How does Puerto Rico (US) rank?

7th highest of 15 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures (current US$) unusual for Puerto Rico (US)?

In 2018, Puerto Rico (US)'s international tourism, expenditures (current US$) fell 16.7% on 2017 (from US$1.07 billion to US$893 million). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +0% and a typical year strayed about 8.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.XPND.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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