Puerto Plata. President Luis Abinader led the first step towards the construction of the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara hotel, which will have 800 rooms in the first stage.
The project is part of the government’s plans to develop Punta Bergantín and relaunch the economy of the province of Puerto Plata, relying on tourism activity.
The initiative, led by a trust headed by the Banco de Reservas, occupies an area of 10 million square meters with a marine coastline and will allow the construction of six five-star hotels, with an offer of 4,500 rooms, plus 1,500 vacation units, 2,500 mixed-use units, a golf club, public access beach clubs and a marine village (theme park), unique in the area.
The Hyatt Zilara is the first in a series of tourist facilities that will make this part of the country’s geography one of the main attractions for local and foreign visitors.
“Today we are firmly beginning to relaunch Puerto Plata. It is not an immediate act, but it is certain, confirmed and solid that this area will also regain the strength it had, the development that began,” said the president.
Increase in tourism
President Abinader stated that together with Punta Cana and the start of new hotels in Pedernales at the beginning of next year, the Dominican Republic will end up with more than 11 and a half million visitors this year and that next year it is expected to exceed 12 million.
He said that today is a very special day because he is convinced that today represents a change for the development of the Northern region and said that since 2002, for various reasons, Puerto Plata has been falling in absolute and relative terms in relation to tourism in the Dominican Republic. “But I can tell you that I have all the hope, all the confidence that today is a turning point and we are going to grow from these actions. “We needed North American brands in the area to attract North American tourism to the Puerto Plata region, we needed that commercial power, that database that Hyatt has and that Meliá also has, however, being a Spanish brand, it has excellent contacts with the North American market,” he said.
He highlighted the interest of other companies, such as Hilton, which is also in the process of negotiation, and Karisma, which is a Mexican-Dominican company, but also with many contacts and a lot of marketing muscle in the United States.”
He said that this project goes beyond the limits of the millions of square meters that will be developed in the hotel, real estate, innovation hub and film studios sectors, all combined to have an interaction between each one and to be able to develop the entire region.
The president reaffirmed to investors the government’s support in terms of marketing, the Ministry of Tourism, Public Works and in all areas, and stated that Punta Bergantín will be a great success and will relaunch the entire region.
He said that the fact that important world-renowned brands want to invest in this project is a sign of hope for the entire region and tourism, especially in the North with its impact on the entire country, and also represents acts of confidence in the project and in the area.
For his part, the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, indicated that the country is heading towards 11.5 million visitors, the highest figure in the history of the Dominican Republic. He specified that all this was due to the fact that the government has not been improvising.
“This project is a reality, there is no theory here, here is the first groundwork, here are the funds, the support of the Banco de Reservas and the Banco Popular. The best is yet to come for Puerto Plata.”
Banreservas CEO Samuel Pereyra stressed that the actions carried out motivate him to redouble his efforts to achieve the high goals proposed in the tourism sector, identified with the president’s vision and whose positive results are expected by all citizens for the sake of economic development. The governor of the Central Bank, Héctor Valdez Albizu, also attended the activity.
Hotel groups say they already have 20 hotels
Hyatt representative Antonio Fungairino said that this project will represent a very high-profile anchor for the development of Punta Bergantín and thanked the country’s strategic approach to tourism. He said that they already have almost 20 hotels and more than 8,000 rooms. Enrique Martinon, from the Martinon Group, congratulated President Luis Abinader for the tenacity they have pursued with this project to make its start a reality in such a short time. The director of the Punta Bergantín Trust, Andrés Marranzini, expressed his gratitude to the president for including this important work in his first act of commencement.
