The National Hotel & Restaurant Association supports efforts of the National Police to remove sidewalk vendor shacks from city streets. City areas have been taken over by so-called "padres de familia" (fathers of families that say they have a right to do what they are doing because they are the bread-winners of their family). Asonahores said it is important to put a halt to the visual contamination of cities and tourist areas. In a press conference, during the III Conference Hotel, Tourism and Investment held in Santo Domingo earlier this week, spokesmen for Asonahores also supported the proposal that hotels pay up front three months of value-added tax so the moneys can be used for government public infrastructure works in tourism areas.
