The Governor of Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), Hector Valdez Albizuheld a meeting with a delegation from the board of directors of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Asonahores)headed by its president Rafael Blanco, in which he highlighted that this sector has been the one with the greatest contribution to the growth of the Dominican economy during this year, thus becoming a backbone of the great recovery process that the country is experiencing after the pandemic. and the effects of the current war in Ukraine.
In this sense, Valdez Albizu indicated that this sector contributed 1.8 percentage points in the average expansion of 5.5% registered by the economy in the period January-July 2022, that is, a third of the growth experienced in the first seven months, with a increase in its real added value of 32.9%.
Likewise, the governor pointed out that this remarkable performance responds to the arrival of 4,282,207 million travelers in January-July of this year, for an increase of 1,820,577 passengers (74.0%) compared to the same period of 2021, highlighting in particular the historical record for a month with the arrival of 735,064 tourists in July 2022. It is noteworthy that this favorable trend was reflected again in the non-resident passengers received in the month of August 2022, reaching the remarkable figure of 621,953 tourists, being the best month of August of the entire statistical series, according to data announced by the Minister of Tourism, David Collado. In this way, an arrival of 4.9 million non-resident travelers was accumulated in the last 8 months of this year.
Valdez Albizu specified that foreign currency income from tourism, which reached US$5,759.1 million in January-August 2022, together with the entry of US$6,518.8 million for remittances in that period, contribute significantly to maintaining a sustainable balance in the current account. of the balance of payments and the maintenance of exchange rate stability, an important element to generate certainty in economic agents. He added that 31% of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of the year 2021, that is, about US$960 million, were destined mainly to the expansion and remodeling of the tourist infrastructure, expecting a value close to US$1,000 million for this concept. in said sector at the end of 2022.
The directors of ASONAHORES described as “surprising” the recovery experienced in tourism in the Dominican Republic, “due largely to the work carried out by the Government, and more specifically by the strategy developed in all markets by the Ministry of Tourism, headed by David Collado”. Likewise, they highlighted the importance of the monetary measures implemented in the pandemic to offer facilities to the private sector and households, through the financial system.
The representatives of the sector stated that foreign investors, especially hoteliers, praise the treatment received in the Dominican Republic by the Government and the credit facilities granted by the Central Bank through the financial system to support the sector in difficult times.
The governor recalled that, through the measures ordered by the Monetary Board, US$600 million in financial resources were made available with an interest of up to 8% for the tourism sector, which was a great help for the maintenance of its businesses and job retention.
In this regard, Valdez Albizu pointed out that the preliminary estimates of the Continuous National Survey of the Workforce (ENCFT) for the April-June 2022 quarter showed that the total number of people employed in the economic activity of hotels, bars and restaurants reached 363,334 people, level higher than the 300,996 net employed in the same period of 2021.
Beside Raphael White, ASONAHORES was represented by Andrés Marranzini, Executive Vice President, and Javier Tejada, Director of the Board of Directors. Governor Valdez Albizu was accompanied by Deputy Governor Clarissa de la Rocha de Torres, Deputy Manager of Monetary, Exchange and Financial Policies, Joel Tejeda, Deputy Manager of National Accounts, Ramón González, and Director of National Accounts, Elina Rosario.
