Like an X-ray of the tourist who arrives in the Dominican Republic, Vice Minister Jacqueline Mora made a presentation in which she showed some indicators of the sector
Madrid Spain.– The Minister of Tourism, david colladopresented yesterday the benefits of the Dominican Republic to more than 300 agencies and tour operators in Europe during a “road show” in which attendees heard the good numbers that the country has achieved during the recovery of tourism but also saw the beaches live Macao, Juan Dolio, Portillo, Punta Cana and the airports of SSanto Domingo and Punta Cana.
Connecting via zoom, Collado’s interlocutors spoke of the good weather in the Dominican Republic, which contrasted with the cold morning of Madridwhere the wind cooled even the thoughts.
Collado, because of seeing is believing, showed a little bit of the country to the agencies in Spain -the majority-, France, Germany, England, and Italy, Collado, since as he explained after his interactive presentation that is the best way to get closer to those who really bring tourists to the country.
“This is within the framework of 26 road shows that we have carried out throughout the world, making contact with travel agencies and presenting our country to them,” said Collado.
Around Fitur He indicated that expectations are very high: they have scheduled more than 50 meetings, signing agreements with large hotel chains that are going to enter the country for the first time. “Starting the day tomorrow (today), right there we are going to sign an agreement with Frank Elias Rainieri, that it is going to announce a hotel with more than a thousand rooms, we are going to sign agreements with the Pionner group, which is going to announce more than a thousand rooms; the truth is that it is one of the best Fitur in which we have participated”.
About the stand, which last year won the award as the best, Collado said that this year is precious, in which there will be 52 co-exhibitors from the private company who will have appointments during the two days. “The country has embraced this fair. Dominican Republic It continues to shine, the numbers are there and far from resting on our laurels because we broke a record year, we are consolidating day by day and we know that the market is a challenge due to long trips, fuel costs and that is why we are closing agreements these two days”.
Among the meetings that Collado will have, he highlighted an agreement with the Condor airline, from Germany, which is the one that carries the most tourists from that country to the Dominican Republic. He will also meet with Iberia and Aire France.
The idea of these approaches is to face the possible rise in the prices of air tickets, something very likely due to the increase in fuel for planes, which may affect the Dominican Republic.
In this sense, Collado affirmed that the cabinet of Tourism It is focused on making air tickets cheaper. “The cost of air tickets is an abuse and we are looking for agreements, encouraging local airlines, approving a law that is already in Congress, sent by the president, so that local airlines can be more competitive, we are also going to sign the Open Skies Treaty with the United States”.
Regarding the Collado treaty, he said that it is already at 95% and, after assuring that the country must have better air connectivity, he denied that the greatest weight of the price is from taxes. For this reason, he indicated that the table is well broken down to discuss it with the airlines.
To illustrate how far the situation can go, Collado said that recently some relatives traveled to Miami, United States, and the ticket was US$3,500 in tourist class. “That’s not a tax issue,” she said.
Despite the prices, last Monday 22,502 tourists arrived in the Dominican Republic: 14 thousand through Punta Cana, 5,365 through Las Américas and 1,476 through Puerto Plata and the other airports. 53% of them stayed in Punta Cana, 10% in Santo Domingo and 7% in Santiago.
a stubborn man
“Channeled stubbornness always leads to a good path,” Collado said during the presentation as he walked around the stage where he showed, in full color, spaces for Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, Samaná, Las Terrenas, Cabrera, La Romana, Bayahíbe, Miches, Punta Cana, Bávaro and Cap Cana.
Thanks to that stubbornness, he pointed out, the country opened its doors to the world while the rest was closed and managed to grow while the others lost. For this reason, last year the Dominican Republic reached the historical record of more than 7 million foreigners by air and more than 1.3 million cruise passengers.
“While the world closed, the Dominican Republic risked getting ahead, seeing the glass half full and not half empty,” Collado said, adding that they always bet on hope and recovery.
The achievements, he said, are not from the president Luis Abinader nor the Minister of Tourism: it belongs to all Dominicans who have passionately embraced the tourism industry and have come out to defend the Dominican Republic thinking about that industry that represents 15% of the Gross Domestic Product, last year it had income for more than US$8.5 billion and provides more than 899,000 jobs directly and indirectly.
Aware of the importance of the sector, Collado assured that they are working to make the Dominican Republic a safe place, for which they have started a plan to renovate and recover all the beaches, organizing the vendors, lighting the beaches and bringing them greater security.
Fitur is the most important space
brings a lot of business
The International Tourism Fair (Fitur) has become the most important tourism fair in Europe and that is why it has aroused great interest in the Dominican Republic, where private companies and financial institutions are increasing their participation.
The statement is made by Aníbal de Castro, Dominican ambassador to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), who indicated that the fair allows contact with tour operators, airlines and potential investors.
In this sense, he recalled that last year the Dominican Republic was the guest country at Fitur, which left very positive marks that have resulted in more investments, more interest in the country as a tourist destination and has sent a sign of leadership in the region. .
The fact that Guatemala is the guest country this year is good news, in De Castro’s opinion, because in addition to the ties of friendship that unite them with the country, both nations are partners in the Central American Integration System (SICA) and are also part of the of the DR-CAFTA.
For De Castro, the prospects for this year are rosy: he expects the country to receive 10% more visitors.
