Wapa Digital May 27, 2025
68% of nautical tourism companies in Puerto Rico operate illegally without the proper certifications, as revealed today in an audit report on the Tourism Company carried out by the Office of the Comptroller.
According to the report, 68% of the nautical tourism companies examined continue providing services despite not having a valid Tourist Activity Certification as of March 27, 2025. This situation, which is attributed to the lack of personnel at the Tourism Company to carry out the necessary inspections, generates unfair competition with the operators who do comply with the law and the regulations in force.
The audit, with three findings, also notes multiple deficiencies with the registry of nautical tourism companies. The auditors identified expired certifications registered as regular and conditional certifications that were expired, in 28% of the files examined. In addition, the Company does not maintain a public registry of the companies dedicated to nautical tourism activities and of the tourist marinas as provided by the Nautical Tourism Act of 2010 (Act 241-2010).
On a visit to the Services and Oversight Office of the Tourism Company, it was verified that the file lacks a designated custodian, does not have a registry of the persons with access, and the documents were loose in the files. This situation makes it easier for documents to disappear and affects the planning, investment and development of nautical tourism companies.
The audited financial statements reflected that the Tourism Company had income of $377.4 million, and spent $264.6 million from 2022 to 2023.
This report is a compliance audit of specific scope, which means it addresses one or two matters within an established period of time. This report covers the period from July 1, 2021 to January 31, 2025, and is available at www.ocpr.gov.pr.
Some documents on this page are saved in PDF format.
To view these documents, you must have the following free program installed.
