UNWTO and Ministers of Tourism of the Americas join forces to relaunch tourism in the region

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.- The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Ministers of Tourism of the Americas pledged to initiate joint actions for the recovery of the industry, which represents 1 in every 10 jobs worldwide.

The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, together with 15 other Ministers of Tourism and 4 Vice Ministers of the Americas, established the collaboration agreements and mechanisms for the relaunch of tourism in the region, in a meeting called by the World Tourism Organization and which was headed at its inauguration by the President of the Republic Luis Abinader.

Tourism leaders in the Americas committed to jointly addressing the reactivation of tourism, making the sector a priority and adopting international protocols. Likewise, it was agreed to bet on innovation and digital transformation, develop sustainable tourism and strengthen support mechanisms for workers and companies most affected.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili declared: “when I travel the world and they ask me which destination has best handled the pandemic, I always answer that one of them it is the Dominican Republic ”.

In welcoming the ministers and representatives of Tourism of America, the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, highlighted the role of the UNWTO as a catalyst for innovation and synergies and called on those present to strengthen themselves as a shared destination, as a region, to through unity, determination, focus and joint vision.

For his part, the Minister of Tourism David Collado stressed that tourism provides employment to more than 500,000 families and contributes 15% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and endorsed the commitment “with the Dominicans, with the collaborators of the sector and with the millions of tourists who are eagerly waiting to get to know the beautiful destinations of the Dominican Republic ”.

The working sessions were attended in person by the ministers and representatives of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, and virtually by the ministers of Chile, Peru, Nicaragua and Argentina. The meetings were developed with the coordination, as host country, of the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic and the participation of representatives of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic, among other actors. of the sector,

At the end of the meeting, the attendees signed the Declaration of Punta Cana, through which the commitment of the region’s leaders to ensure an effective and pertinent post-COVID recovery action plan is reinforced.