VEGA BAJA, Puerto Rico — Tourists slipped into borrowed red polyester vests from the Puerto Rico supermarket where Bad Bunny once worked, grinning as they posed for photographs in the superstar’s old uniform.
They listened intently as his former boss recalled how he loved classic salsa songs. “He always liked going to the parking lot to gather the shopping carts because it seemed that he felt free there and would sing,” said Delza Vélez, the head of HR at Econo, the supermarket.
In 2016, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio quit that job, leaving Vélez a note. Two years later, he launched his first album — and the singer known as Bad Bunny stepped into stardom.
This summer, thousands descended on Puerto Rico, where the singer’s concert residency in San Juan, running from mid-June through mid-September, has single-handedly boosted the island’s fragile economy. The prodigious son has elevated the global profile of the U.S. territory, singing about Puerto Rico’s turmoil and identity.
Visitors come not only to see him but to explore his island. Thousands have stood in line for days or waited hours online to snag a ticket for the reggaetón singer and rapper, one of the most streamed artists in the world.
A father and son with the same name, Eddie Villanueva, traveled from Switzerland for a full Bad Bunny experience on a $5,000 budget, including $40 tickets for a tour of the star’s hometown of Vega Baja.
“Delighted. Incredible,” said the younger Villanueva, 23.
Nearly three dozen hotels are participating in Bad Bunny packages, which include the concert and which have generated nearly $200 million, according to Discover Puerto Rico, an organization that promotes the island.
More than 48,000 nights have been booked at hotels at a time when visits dwindle ahead of the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. Concert organizers say 25,000 packages were sold in just one day.
Hotel reservations were 10% higher on July 27, compared with the same date last year. Short-term rentals are up 42% this month, compared to last August, and 61% higher for September. With up to hundreds of dollars per concert ticket, the show is expected to attract about 600,000 people.
Nearly 7% more flights were booked between July and September from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico’s main international airport than during the same period last year, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
The windfall comes as Puerto Rico promoters focus more on its culture, rather than beaches.
“We can argue that they’re the prettiest, but they’re beaches. What makes us unique is the culture. No one can steal that,” said Ricardo Cortés Chico, a spokesperson for Discover Puerto Rico.
In Bad B