“Despacito,” a miracle for Puerto Rico’s economy
Puerto Rico, the island that had to declare bankruptcy to reorganize the economy for a $70 billion debt, saw an incredible boost in its tourism business. The world-famous pop song ‘Despacito’ seems to be the immediate cause of this sudden spike.
The song was composed by singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, both of whom are natives of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The two stars included the phrase “this is how we do it down in Puerto Rico.” The YouTube video of the song, which currently has around 2.5 billion views, was recorded in numerous photogenic areas of Puerto Rico.
According to a report by Un Nuevo Dia, the number of tourists increased by 45% since the single became available on radios and social media. Club La Factoría in Old San Juan and La Perla sector, regions visible in the video, became a great financial opportunity for Puerto Rican tour operators, who began to include those locations in their itineraries.
Luis Fonsi, whose song reached the top place in weekly rankings, stated that he was happy to see Puerto Rico benefiting from his song.
“What a joy it is to read this in international media. Puerto Rico is the true protagonist of this song and this video,” reacted Fonsi.
Though, the island needs much more publicity if it wants to escape its current economic state. Tourism alone will not be sufficient to affect the country significantly. Additionally, as the song was recorded in San Juan, minor cities in Puerto Rico were not able to benefit from Despacito’ s popularity.
