Porta Caribe is a tourism region in southern Puerto Rico. It consists of 14 municipalities in the south central zone: Adjuntas, Arroyo, Coamo, Guayama, Guayanilla, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Patillas, Peñuelas, Ponce, Salinas, Santa Isabel, Villaba, Yauco.[1][2] Porta Caribe was established in 2003 by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. The name translates to "Doorway to the Caribbean."[3] Its executive director is Jose A. Reyes Feliciano.[4]
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The southern region of Puerto Rico had traditionally been considered to consist of 16 municipalities.[5] The establishment of the Porta Caribe region dates to the late 1990s when two bills to the effect were brought before the Puerto Rico Legislature, but failing to garnish the necessary number of votes in both occasions. The region was finally established by Executive Order of Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá in May, 2006.[6] Initially the region consisted of 15 municipalities, but Guanica was subsequently officially moved to join the Western Region (Porta del Sol Region).[7][8] A budget of $1 million USD was initially assigned to promote tourism for the Porta Caribe region. The director of the Government of Puerto Rico's Puerto Rico Tourism Company called Porta Caribe "Puerto Rico's second tourist destination."[9]
In 2006, the region already provided the following facilities to launch it as a toursit destination:[10]
This is a list of the top attractions in Porta Caribe, according to the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.[11] The Oficina del Plan de Usos de Terrenos (Office of Land Use Planning) of the Government of Puerto Rico lists 24 officially-recognized beaches in the southern region of Puerto Rico. It defines the region as including the municipalities of Arroyo, Coamo, Guayama, Guayanilla, Juana Díaz, Peñuelas, Ponce, Salinas, Santa Isabel and Yauco.[12]
In October 2011, Governor Luis Fortuno created what he called "Ruta del Sur" (English: Southern Route) in a political move to show support for the infrastructural development of the municipalities in southern Puerto Rico. Ruta del Sur included the nine municipalites of Guánica, Yauco, Ponce, Guayanilla, Peñuelas, Arroyo, Salinas, Juana Díaz y Santa Isabel. One of its goals is the development of ecotourism.[13]
DISUR, which stands for "Desarrollo Integral del Sur" (English: Southern Integral Development) is a private organization created in 2006 that seeks to "promote and maximize the competitiveness of the municipalities that make up the of southern region of Puerto Rico." It consists of 15 southern municipalities as follows: Adjuntas, Arroyo, Coamo, Guánica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Jayuya, Juana Díaz, Patillas, Peñuelas, Ponce, Salinas, Santa Isabel, Villalba y Yauco.[14] The organization seeks to make strides in the area of turism by promoting conventions as well as the Centro Oceanografico de Ponce.[15]
The College of Surveyors of Puerto Rico created the "Ruta Agrícola" (English: Agricultural Route) which runs from Salinas, through Santa Isabel and Juana Diaz, and ending in Ponce. Its purpose is "to create a new magnet for tourism".[16]
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