Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) has published plans to launch a new tourism region, named Porta Atlantico, on Puerto Rico’s north coast.

The region will capitalise on its major tourism attractions, the Rio Camuy Cave Park, the third-largest cave system in the world, and the Arecibo Observatory, home to the planet's largest and most sensitive radio telescope and a filming location for Bond movie Goldeneye.

It will also be home to the island’s first 6* hotel, the Dorado Beach Ritz Carlton Reserve, which opens in December 2012.

Announced by the Executive Director of PRTC, Mario Gonzalez Lafuente, the tourist region comprises of the Camuy, Hatillo, Arecibo, Barceloneta, Manati, Vega Baja, Vega Alta, Dorado and Toa Alta municipalities.

"The process of launching a Tourism Region like Porta Atlantico was a coordinated effort between the municipalities. It guarantees job creation and long-term economic development for the region," indicated Gonzalez Lafuente. “The municipal support, in partnership with the private sector, represents millions of dollars invested into new hotel projects and tourist attractions."

The private sector has also committed to investing in Porta Atlantico, with the Holiday Inn Travel Plaza in Arecibo investing $18 million, The Hyatt Place in Manati a total of $37 million, the Wyndham Barceloneta close to the Premium Outlets an investment of $35 million.  These investments have been further boosted by the development of the Dorado Beach Ritz Carlton Reserve, the first six star hotel in Puerto Rico.

"The Ritz Carlton Reserve represents an investment of $342 million and will be one of the largest hotel developments in Puerto Rico, further improving the tourism offer for the municipal of Dorado," indicated Gonzalez Lafuente.

In regards to the overall attraction of the island to visitors, he continued, “Puerto Rico offers travellers a unique proposition in comparison to other Caribbean islands, it has a variety of activities that can be experienced across the island that cannot be found anywhere else.”

Porta Atlantico’s key attractions
- Two thriving luxury resort centres of Dorado and Hatillo
- Stunning Atlantic coastline with world-renowned surfing beaches
- The Zona del Karso/Karst Country, an area of coastline famed for its dissolved limestone formations, part of the Puerto Rico forest preserve and full of hiding holes historically used by pirates
- Arecibo Observatory, home to the planet's largest and most sensitive radio telescope and a filming location for Bond movie Goldeneye
- Rio Camuy Cave Park, the third-largest cave system in the world.