FIPETUR president explains Dominican tourism success strategy

SANTO DOMINGO, D.R. August 8, 2023 – Dominican journalist Luis José Chávez, president of the Ibero-American Forum of Tourism Journalists (FIPETUR) affirmed that the Dominican tourism sector has grown more in the last three years than at any other time in its history, despite the adverse factors that have impacted the industry worldwide.

He highlighted that tourist arrivals to the Dominican Republic continue to surpass month after month all historical records prior to the pandemic, projecting that by the end of 2023, the country will reach the national goal of 10 million visitors in one year, a goal that until 2020 seemed practically unattainable in the short term.

Chavez, who was interviewed on the program “Estampas Colombianas”, produced by Panamanian journalist Hernan Posada, through Radio W Colombia FM 91.3, and Radio Panama FM 94.5., assured that the key to success in Dominican tourism has been the public-private alliance headed by President Luis Abinader and Minister David Collado, and by the main actors of the private tourism sector, headed by the National Association of Hotels and Tourism (ASONAHORES).

He indicated that since the beginning of the current government, in August 2020, President Abinader identified tourism as one of the main priorities of his economic recovery program due to its transversal impact on all the productive sectors of the country, including agricultural production, where tourism represents a market of more than 40 billion pesos per year.

He recalled that the Dominican ruler first created the Cabinets of Health and Education, to manage the containment of Covid-19 and to program the reopening of the educational system, and then created the Cabinet of Tourism to plan, together with all the actors of the industry, the relaunching of the main economic activity of the country.

He affirmed that as a result of this strategy, the Dominican Republic was the number one country in the world in consolidating the recovery of tourism and air traffic, as recognized by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Among the factors that have contributed to the exponential growth of the Dominican tourism industry, said Chávez, are the new investments in traditional tourist destinations, such as Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, La Romana and Santo Domingo, and emerging destinations such as Pedernales and Montecristi, where important investments in new hotels, roads, service works, power plants, a new airport, a multimodal port and a cruise port are being developed.

On air connectivity growth

The president of FIPETUR said that the growth of air connectivity in the Dominican Republic has also been an important factor in the strengthening of the tourism sector, led by the emergence of new airlines stimulated by the incentives policy promoted by the government of President Abinader.

He specifically cited the case of the new low-fare airline ARAJET, which is already offering 88 connections between Canada, South America and the Caribbean.

He highlighted the recent announcement by ARAJET executives of the new routes in operation, which include 88 connections in the 20 destinations of the 14 countries served by the Dominican flag carrier, contributing to consolidate Santo Domingo as a regional air hub.

Chavez also spoke about the next great event of the Ibero-American travel press to be held from August 28 to 31 in Uruguay, as part of a program that includes the celebration of its elective general assembly and meetings in the cities of Colonia del Sacramento, Punta del Este and Montevideo, and pledged to disseminate the main topics to be addressed during that call.