Puerto Rico incentivizes sustainability by its visitors
Your RFPs may routinely ask about a venue’s—or a destination’s—commitment to sustainability. Certifications like LEED, Green Key and Green Globe at hotels and convention centers are now almost routine, thankfully. But turnabout is fair play, so they say. Why shouldn’t a sustainability-minded destination want to certify the eco-consciousness of its visitors?
Discover Puerto Rico says it’s time to do just that.
In celebration of Earth Day this year, the island’s destination marketing organization (DMO) launched The Green Path, described as “an innovative new microsite empowering visitors to become certified ‘Responsible Travelers’ through engaging educational content and immersive storytelling rooted in sustainability.”
At the heart of this initiative is a certification program that guides users through four sustainability pillars—each tailored to different aspects of conscious travel:
- The Foodprint—exploring local farms, markets and eco-gastronomic practices;
- Legacy Journey—preserving Puerto Rico’s heritage through architecture, culture and stories;
- Nature Paths—highlighting the island’s biodiversity and outdoor eco-adventures;
- Conscious Stays—showcasing responsible accommodations and low-impact lodging options.
Each pillar’s landing page features content designed to inspire and inform travelers. Highlights include a first-person chronicle offering “a personal lens into on-island experiences;” feature articles and listicles covering sustainable travel, local dining, and cultural insights; and an interactive map to help navigate the island.
And Now, the Reward!
The Green Path is more than just educational and fun. As users progress through the microsite, they earn points along the way. Upon reaching an 80% completion score, ¡ahí está! They receive a downloadable and shareable badge recognizing them as certified “Responsible Travelers to Visit Puerto Rico.” This certification unlocks access to exclusive deals and discounts from local partners offering experiences and accommodations aligned with sustainable tourism practices.
Read More: Qurator: Hawaii’s New, All-encompassing Tourism Certification Program
“We designed The Green Path as a modern approach to education and engagement,” says Dalissa Zeda, digital marketing director at Discover Puerto Rico. “By making sustainability personal and actionable, we’re helping visitors align their values with their vacation plans, fostering more meaningful travel experiences while supporting the long-term well-being of our island.”
The late April launch marks the beginning of a phased rollout, with new experiences and articles to be added regularly across each sustainability pillar. A real-time calendar is now live, showing hotel and rental availability across the island in hopes of reducing overcrowding by encouraging exploration beyond the most-visited regions.
The calendar is meant to inspire longer stays, too, which supports the surging interest in adding leisure days before or after group meetings. Plans also call for the addition of tailored resources for the MICE world, though no timeline has been announced.
“Our long-term vision is to continue building out the platform with rich editorial and audiovisual content that speaks to various segments, including the MICE audience,” Zeda says. Her team is in the process of adapting existing group meetings content from her DMO’s main website—team building in Puerto Rico, for example. “We are also planning the development of short-form video content tailored to sustainable meetings and incentives,” she adds.
With some nine in 10 Gen Z-ers saying they are willing to make conscious choices to support sustainability—which is said to be influencing other generations to prioritize ethical and sustainable choices—it seems that Discover Puerto Rico is onto something. We can only hope it spreads beyond its tropical shores.
