The National Hotel & Restaurant Association welcomed the decision of the Dominican government to re-establish the country’s membership of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Asonahores, praised the efforts of Minister of Tourism, Frank Jorge Elías, in creating a positive attitude by the country’s President. CTO is the principal regional tourism organization in the Caribbean.
Asonahores said that the return of the D.R. to CTO will permit the country to participate in important programs that are being developed for benefit of the region. He said that the Lomé Convention has funds for several regional tourist projects and tourism promotion in Europe. The country will now be able to participate in the regional tourism promotion programs in the U.S. market. The government paid US$80,800 to cover its contribution to the CTO for 1996.