A project by Puerto Rican Instagram photographers is using the hashtag #CrisisIsland to make a good point: there may be some real financial issues facing the government, but Puerto Rico continues to be a beautiful place to visit or to live.
A marketing firm came up with the idea and reached out to the top 10 Instagrammers on the island. They saw the headlines about “Puerto Rico Crisis Continues” and “Puerto Rico Healthcare Crisis” and “Puerto Rico Debt Crisis” and decided to change the conversation.
Their hope was that the conversation about crisis in Puerto Rico would shift to an appreciation of the beauty of the island and encourage the tourist trade. If the government couldn’t do that, they thought, maybe the power of Instagram — and some great photos — could.
With nearly 24 million options for “Puerto Rico crisis” on Google search (and #CrisisIsland nowhere near the top of the list), the Instagrammers don’t seem to be disrupting the story.
But tourism also doesn’t seem to be suffering. Tourist hotel occupancy was up by 9% in July of 2015, according to figures from the Government Development Bank, and the World Travel & Tourism Council predicts that the year will finish with a 1.5% increase in the overall economic contribution of tourism in Puerto Rico.
Tourism is still weaker in Puerto Rico than in other locations in the region, but it is not in crisis.
Should the beauty of the Island need to be shown under the hashtag #CrisisIsland? It would be better to see Congress take action. Contact your Member of Congress today and make it clear that you want to see action.
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