City of San Juan unveils tourism campaign in New York
An interactive double-decker bus will promote the capital’s culture, attractions and San Sebastián Street Festival.
Following the success of its tourism campaign in New York last year, the City of San Juan has launched a new marketing strategy that features a double-decker bus equipped with digital screens for an immersive experience.
The campaign takes the audience on a visual journey of some of San Juan’s cultural, historic, architectural and natural attractions, along with the excitement of the San Sebastián Street Festival.
A two-minute video, produced with advanced filming technology, will be screened on the lower deck of the bus, offering a virtual tour of San Juan.
The upper deck is decorated with patio lights to resemble an Old San Juan rooftop and feature background music and a photo wall for selfies.
Launched under the “Explora San Juan” brand and the tagline “Déjate llevar” (“Let Yourself Go”),” the campaign targets Puerto Ricans living in New York and local travelers aged 18 to 54 interested in exploring different cultures. This is the first time a campaign of this kind has been launched stateside.
The promotional strategy “seeks to position our Capital City as a unique, different, attractive and diverse destination that offers visitors experiences that very few places in the world can deliver,” said San Juan Mayor Miguel A. Romero.
“We certainly expect to make an impression on thousands of our Puerto Rican and New Yorker peers, who will undoubtedly be motivated to travel to San Juan and celebrate with us the diversity of attractions, history and culture that our destination has to offer,” Romero added.
The bus will travel through New York City boroughs, parking at high-traffic areas from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It will visit Brooklyn (Puerto Rico Avenue and Moore Street) from Dec. 13-15; the Bronx (Mott Haven – 134th Street and Alexander Avenue) from Dec. 20-22; and Manhattan’s 8th Avenue, between 38th and 39th streets, from Dec. 27-29
“This type of immersive promotion allows us to show visitors a more realistic experience of our destination before they arrive in San Juan,” said Daphne Barbeito, director of San Juan’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
“It’s an effort to position our Capital City as an innovative destination that continues evolving with more advanced, unique and interactive experiences that capture the attention of tourists,” she said. “It’s also an invaluable promotional tool that we can offer to all industry stakeholders to market our city.”
The campaign coincides with the promotion of the 55th San Sebastián Street Festival, one of the Caribbean’s largest cultural events.
In 2024, the festival attracted 700,000 visitors, generating nearly $55 million in spending, $3.4 million from the cruise industry, $4.6 million in hotel bookings and more than $2.7 million in short-term rentals. This economic activity in San Juan creates a multiplier effect throughout the entire island, and the city expects to surpass these figures in 2025.
The “Explora San Juan” campaign is projected to generate more than 1.7 million impressions through visitors to the double-decker bus and its immersive experience, as well as through collaborations with influencers DJ Kazzanova, DJ Carlito, Jumpin Jay and Nilda Rosario, who will promote the campaign on Instagram.
