The meal It is one of the most authentic experiences to know what life is like. culture of a country; Therefore, it is the main attraction that encourages millions of tourists to visit new places.
Although the Dominican Republic is the main gastronomic destination in the Caribbean – generating a added value of up to 3.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) according to estimates – businessmen agree that to strengthen this segment, greater variety, better presentation and closer linkage of the meal local with the culture and history that give it origin.
“We have enormous potential. But we are missing something. What are we missing? It is something as simple as the gastronomy Dominican we must make her sexy. Make it attractive to tourists,” he said. Luis Rospresident of the Dominican Academy of Gastronomy.
During his participation in the second Forum on Real Estate TourismRos explained that, although it is true that Dominicans love their meal –with whom they have a close relationship emotional bond– The tourist only has two options: either he likes it, or he doesn’t like it. Falling in love with him requires putting him in context with the history of the dish that you are tasting, accompanied by a presentation that invites you to repeat and, more importantly, return.
This coincides with the chef María Marte. He stated that during his residence in Madridwitnessed “for more than 15 years” how the gastronomy has been the main reason for the investors to put their capital in other countries.
“He luxury tourism and the gastronomy they go hand in hand. There are a lot of visitors who travel through the meal“remarked the chef, the only one to win two Michelin stars in Madridand who is now betting on earning his third star through his ventures, Cayena and Hibiscus, in his native Jarabacoa.
Only 44% of tourists knew the meal local
The technical vice minister of Ministry of Tourism, Jacqueline Moraagreed during the forum –organized by the Dominican Association of Real Estate Tourist Companies (Adeti) that one of the most important challenges to expand the impact of real estate and luxury tourism lies in raising the quality of gastronomy.
The conditions are given for this: Dominican Republic has 280 attractions that offer a gastronomic experience.
Official data show that the meal Dominican Republic has a good acceptance among visitors: 83% of foreigners who stayed in a hotel, between January and August of this year, went out to taste the meal local.
These were the results:
- 87% of them had a good experience with the meal and 92% said they would feel motivated to return to the country because of their meal
- 78% thought that the Dominican gastronomic offer is attractive
- 68% said that the offer exceeded their expectations.
But one of the most relevant data is that only 44% of those tourists knew the meal before coming, which reflects an opportunity to continue promoting this segment.
For the president of the Dominican Restaurant Association (Aderes), Omar Cepedathe gastronomy it’s a added value which, beyond encouraging investments, increases the capital gain of a property intended for tourism.
“The gastronomy We cannot see it as a complement, but as a strategic asset“he emphasized.
Cepeda considers that the training of personnel increasingly specialized in gastronomic tourism will be vital for this segment to contribute to doubling the local GDP in the face of the RD 2036 Goal, a strategy designed by the Government to increase the growth and development of the Dominican economy. To this, the Vice President of Sustainability of Tropicalia, Sofía Perazzo, emphasized the need to also include farmers as part fundamental of the value chain.
