Although it is open to the public since December 15, 2022, today was when the start of operations of the Sports Illustrated Resort Marina & Villas Cap Canain the La Altagracia province of the Dominican Republic.
The hotel is the first launched in the world with the name of the famous sports magazine American, which is characterized by its sensual covers.
Although the publishing industry does not have financial figures as positive as in the past, the project has a significant investor who allowed the purchase of the Ancora hotel Cap Cana (located in the marina) for its remodeling. The transformation involved about 3 million dollarsaccording to one of its executives.
“They have a very powerful partner, which is the ABG (Authentic Brand Groupsowner of Sports Illustrated), billionaire, who has many businesses in the sector of stores and brands”, explained the president of the Board of Directors of Cap Cana, Fernando Hazoury.
In it ABG portfolio there are the brands Aéropostale, Forever 21, Nautica, Airwalk and Reebok, among others.
Hazoury indicated that the company wanted to enter the hotel sector and chose, of all its brands, the one it understood to have the most entry into the hotel sector. tourist world. “Just like Hard Rock, which was a restaurant (and today there are hotels with that name),” she compared.
According to the businessman, the investors decided to open the Sports Illustrated Resort Marina & Villas Cap Cana in the exclusive tourist complete by the style of life, “for what is Cap Cana” and its location.
The new hotel has 150 rooms. The objective of the investors is to build one on the beach.
With that vision, Hazoury, together with the tourism minister from Dominican Republic, david colladoand businessmen Chris Schroeder and Mark Korros, officially announced the start of operations of Sports Illustrated Resort Marina & Villas Cap Canain a meeting with the press at the Palacio de Santa Bárbara, in Madrid, Spain.
Win win
In his launch speech, Hazoury said that the digital experience of Sports Illustrated Resort and the media power of its Sports Illustrated magazinean icon in American sports culture for more than 65 years, has shaped the narrative around sports.
In addition, that only one of its annual editions reaches about 70 million consumers a year, its cover being “the most coveted asset in sports media” and “one of the most recognizable honors in American culture”, from where the largest proportion of tourists come to the Dominican Republic, for what it understands will benefit the country .
“Tourism is what will help us become a developed country”Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cap Cana
Hazoury reported that currently Cap Cana has 11 hotelsone of these under construction, and more than 3,400 hotel roomswith a view to multiplying them in the next two decades with the addition of recognized luxury brands that help position the country and attract tourists with greater purchasing power.
He urged the Dominican Republic to continue with the current favorable climate for national and international private investment and pursue the diversification of the tourist offerwith sports, health, music, retirees and ecological tourism.
“The sightseeing is what is going to get us to be a developed country”, he assured.
Why Cap Cana?
Chris Schroeder, CEO of Sports Illustrated Resorts, said that Cap Cana was the place chosen for being one of the developments related to sports and has one of the most unique active lifestyles in the world, with golf courses world-class, equestrian center, fishing and boating, eco-adventure activities and a Sports City, which offers a circuit of mountain bike first level.
He said this has been only the beginningas they work to expand other investments and developments.
Michael Sherman, Executive Vice President of Strategy, Business and Tactical Operations at Authentic Brand Groupsadded that they hope to strengthen their presence in a high-level destination.
Authentic Brands Group has an annual turnover of 14 trillion dollars and more than 6,000 stores present in 150 countries.
