Businessmen and public officials are optimistic, Collado is recognized
Berlin Germany.- The ITB Berlin Fair began with a good sign for the Dominican Republic and this data is supported by preliminary information on contacts with investors who view the Caribbean country positively, and with the announcement of a session by the UNWTO for May.
Yesterday several agreements were signed that come to add to a tourism that is clearly improving and the work of Minister David Collado was recognized. The official received two awards from Radio Group Germany: One of them as Minister of Tourism for the year 2022 and the other award went to the country, for being the one with the fastest recovery, after the pandemic.
Earlier in the morning, the Ministry of Tourism and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) agreed here to hold, in Punta Cana, the 118th Executive Council of that international institution.
The activity will be in May of this year with the participation of 35 tourism ministers from different countries. “This is how we started this ITB Fair in Berlin, with good news, taking the world tourism council to meet in the Dominican Republic,” said Collado.
The announcement was made at the opening ceremony of the Dominican Republic stand at ITB Berlin 2023.
He assured that this institution is working hard to recover the German market and other places on the European continent.
He stressed that the support of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to the country has contributed to the world looking towards the Dominican destination.
The official indicated that it is the first time that the Dominican Republic occupies one of the chairs held by the UNWTO Executive Committee. “It is a chair with voice and vote that we carry,” he explained.
As part of the attractions of the Dominican stand at the ITB, Tourism installed an immersive exhibition of Dominican tourist attractions.
The bench
Banco Popular and Banco de Reservas maintain firm support for the tourism sector, both as financiers of development. And that support was valued both by the UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, and by Minister David Collado.
The vice president of the Tourism Business Area of Banco Popular, Juan Manuel Martín de Oliva, highlighted the work being done in the Dominican Republic to continue strengthening tourism.
El Popular, a firm ally of the tourism industry, reported that this institution has held important business meetings at the ITB, which began yesterday Tuesday. As the fair progresses the number of meetings rises. It is what usually happens. “And the most important thing is the number of interlocutors who come to talk to us and ask us for recommendations to invest in the country,” explained Martín de Oliva.
He added that Banco Popular not only has a responsibility towards clients, but also supports the country to attract investment. “The investment climate in the Dominican Republic is truly spectacular. We are moving in a socio-political environment of the entire region, which makes the Dominican Republic grow even more. We always talk about the Dominican Republic being fashionable and it is true. The only difference is that the Dominican Republic does not go out of style, ”he said.
The Dominican Republic, which has an important representation at ITB 2023, has signed and will continue to sign agreements with travel agencies, tour operators and investors. Thus they have established representatives of these sectors.
financial portfolio
For his part, the general administrator of Banco de Reservas, Samuel Pereyra, told the journalists who approached him that last year the active portfolio for tourism exceeded RD$35.868 million, with financing approvals of US$172 million for projects in the sector.
He calculated that RD$8,954 million were also disbursed for the hotel sector and financing of more than US$400 million was approved for working capital and development of tourism projects. “All these investments have been necessary and are part of the Banco de Reservas’ commitment to the development of the Dominican Republic,” Pereyra reiterated when speaking at the inauguration of the photographic exhibition organized by the Bank “La Riqueza en la República Dominicana”, of the prominent lens artist, Eladio Fernández.
He informed that Banreservas is evaluating new investments for an amount greater than USD$1.5 billion to guarantee the continuous growth of tourism in the Dominican Republic. These resources will be used for the construction of new hotel projects.
In a few words pronounced at the opening of the stand and in conversation with the press, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and founder of Grupo Punta Cana, Frank Rainieri, who was at the inauguration of the Dominican stand, highlighted that the German market has been essential for the development of tourism in the Dominican Republic. He recalled those years in which these citizens began to travel as tourists, attracted by the charm and beauty of the Dominican Republic and by the treatment of the people, later, on subsequent trips.
Aeronautical vision, cite their efforts
The president of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC), José Ernesto Marte Piantini, interviewed by the accredited Dominican press in Berlin, said that this institution makes specific contacts that favor Dominican tourism. “We never leave this type of fair empty-handed and the work that is being done is giving specific results. The tourist goes to the Dominican Republic, and mostly does it through planes,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the director of the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC), Héctor Porcella, stressed that 2022 was the best year for civil aviation in the country. “We are in Berlin supporting the Ministry of Tourism in this fair because they are our allies. We belong to the Tourism Cabinet and the strategy established by President Luis Abinader so that we all go in the same direction until we achieve what we already have, to be the best country in the region, we will continue step by step ”, he explained.
20,000
Germany sends tourists to the Dominican Republic every year, it is one of the most important European markets.
