‘Despacito’ Has Tourists Flocking To Puerto Rico

Ay bendito. Mix one hit song with one promise of hot, slow sex on the beach and what do you get? “The best marketing gimmick Puerto Rico never asked for.”

That’s what the Miami Herald is calling the Justin Bieber/Luis Fonsi/Daddy Yankee song topping the Billboard charts since April, as “travelers, overcome with a desire to know how they do it down in Puerto Rico, are flocking to the Caribbean island.”

(In case you’re wondering, they do it slowly (despacito), on the beach in Puerto Rico, until the waves join in and scream, “Ay bendito.” But enough of that.)

The song’s video helps too, of course; it features beaches, the capital city of San Juan, and a club called “La Factoría” in Old San Juan.

Since the song launched, searches for Puerto Rico on Hotels.com are up 45% over the same period last year.

“We know that popular culture has a strong influence on our travel decisions. Puerto Rico is the home of singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, and it gets a big shout out in their hit song,” said Taylor L. Cole, travel expert for Hotels.com, in a statement. “Plus, our search data suggests it’s encouraging more people to explore this great destination.”

Honestly, we think the fading fear of the Zika virus and lots of investment and new properties have helped tourism to Puerto Rico quite a bit this year, too. But we’ll acknowledge that the vision of Bieber on the beach can’t help but add to the allure of a U.S. commonwealth you don’t even need a passport to visit.

The island is featured in the song’s video, with shots of beaches, the neighborhood of La Perla in capital city San Juan, and club “La Factoría” in the Old San Juan.