To recover the tourist industry experts call joining efforts

Andrés Marranzini, Francesca Rainieri, Julio Heinsen and José Natalio Redondo participated in the virtual panel “Reopening of Tourism: Experience in hotels, airports and restaurants in the different poles of the country” , organized by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic.

The four experts referred to the importance of launching strategies to promote the security and competitive advantages of the Dominican Republic in the issuing countries to restore tourist confidence, as well as working on the reopening of nations that keep their borders closed with the country. .

Santo Domingo, August 20.- To recover the losses that the tourism industry has had as a result of the measures adopted to curb COVID-19, a collective effort is required from all sectors. The participants of the virtual panel “Reopening of Tourism: Experience in the hotels, airports and restaurants of the different poles of the country” , organized by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR), agreed on this approach .

Andrés Marranzini, executive vice president of Asonahores, stated that the information and communication of health protocols should be strengthened, as well as implementing strategies to promote the destination in the issuing countries and achieve the reopening in those countries that keep their borders closed with the Dominican Republic .

Marranzini insisted that the Dominican tourism sector has sufficient resilience to overcome this situation, due to its level of interconnectivity that allows it to have connection with different air routes and its health capacity in the main tourist poles.

While Francesca Rainieri, vice president of the Puntacana Group, understands that for tourism to be reborn to the levels that the industry used to exhibit prior to the pandemic, an alignment between the public and private sectors is required in the implementation and management of measures to give clarity and confidence in travelers, as well as highlighting the competitive advantages of the country.

Rainieri estimated at RD $ 8,000 billion pesos approximately the losses it had in the Dominican State in direct rates of airport taxes, due to the closure of the borders that occurred between March 19 and June 30. In that sense, he predicted that it will be in 2023 when the airline industry recovers the dynamism that it showed in 2019.

For Julio Heinsen, vice president of the Air Lines Association, the success of the restart of air transport operations will lie in establishing confidence in the health security of the destination, so he understands that in the country the policies implemented must be communicated in a timely manner to build trust in travelers.

In addition, it indicates that an updated protocol must be applied, financial facilities should be extended to airlines, work in a unified way between the public and private sectors and design a specific strategic plan to relaunch the destination to boost the air sector during the current situation of the pandemic.

When asked about the safety of traveling on airplanes, Heinsen emphasized frequent and thorough sanitation of airplane cabins. “Traveling by plane is safer than going to a supermarket, since the air is replaced every two to three minutes and the HEPA air filters on airplanes capture more than 99.9% of bacteria,” he said.

José Natalio Redondo, vice president of the Puerto Plata Tourism Cluster and president of the North Coast Hotel Association, understands that public-private alliances should be encouraged to relaunch the different tourist centers.

“The short-term goal is to develop a well-integrated program to promote the destination with a primary focus on health safety and highlighting the conditions of spaces with little contamination and little risk of contagion,” said Redondo.

The virtual panel, moderated by Juan Velázquez, vice president and administrator of Costasur, addressed the experiences, opportunities for improvements in the different poles of the country after the reopening of tourism, specifically regarding the evaluation of protocols implemented in hotels, airports and restaurants and its economic impact on the different poles of the country.

About the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR)

The American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR for its acronym in English) is a non-profit association, legally incorporated on November 8, 1923, that fosters a healthy investment climate based on access to knowledge, opportunities and a culture of best practices for the socio-economic and professional development of its members. AMCHAMDR is affiliated with the US Chamber of Commerce and is a founding member of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA).

AMCHAMDR works an agenda designed to connect and represent its partners in new trends in the world of business, markets and indicators both nationally and internationally. Its catalog of services is designed to add value to its members, offering concrete solutions and identifying opportunities for business and professional growth.