Santo Domingo should be a priority in the plan of the next tourist authorities. Asonahores considers that the new government should support private sector efforts to convert the city, in a short period of time, into an attractive venue for conventions, fairs, congresses and sporting events.
The position was supported by the Association of Hotels of Santo Domingo (AHSD), at the seminar held by the National Hotels & Restaurants Association (Asonahores) to discuss the proposals with the current contenders for the presidency of the Republic.
City hotels see this as their basic strategy for tourist development and seek the cooperation of the government to create a Convention and Visitors to Santo Domingo Bureau.
The Association of Hotels of Santo Domingo says that the city’s attractions include its hotels, restaurants, history, and night and day time entertainment centers. The Association stressed a lot of improvement is necessary in several public services, such as refuse collection, so that the beauty and potential of prominent areas, such as the Colonial City, Ciudad Nueva, Parque Independencia, and the Columbus Lighthouse may be realized. The Association also stated that the power cuts and poor illumination of several city areas near the tourism sectors also affects the image of the city.
The Association maintains that while the government has made large investments in infrastructure in the city in recent years, its effect on tourism is limited by the large number of adverse factors, such as refuse collection, lack of illumination, street signs, ugly street signs and political propaganda, traffic disorder, and the lack of care of the green areas.
The hotels say that the disorder in the capital city affects its possibilities as a tourist attraction and results in a huge loss of foreign currency, both for the government and private companies, that would contribute to the economy and to develop new businesses and international trade.