Cabo Rojo targets 250,000 cruise passengers by end of 2026

Mitur projects that the Cabo Rojo port will receive 250,000 cruise passengers by the end of 2026. Carlos Peguero, deputy minister of Tourism for International Cooperation, said so in a review of tourism development in Pedernales, as reported by Arecoa. If the figure holds, it changes the south's weight in the country's arrival map.

Peguero highlighted the progress of the port and the infrastructure around it, with Pedernales as the epicenter of a bet that until recently sounded like a distant promise. The number matters for what it pulls along: every cruise passenger who steps off in Cabo Rojo spends on transport, excursions, crafts and local food, and leaves tax revenue behind in the province. That is the impact the country should track closely, not just the port headline.

The industry read is clear. Cabo Rojo stops being an experiment and starts competing with the Caribbean's established ports. The opportunity lies in the excursion: whoever builds quality product in the southern region captures a visitor who until now just passed through.