Minister of Tourism Felix Jiménez said he does not feel the Y2K phenomenon will affect tourism to the DR. He said that all flights to the DR are full, and European tour operators are reporting the sale of more holiday packages this year than last. Furthermore, he said that the banking and tourism sector have taken the adequate precautions. He did not feel hotels in the DR will have to lower their rates to attract clients this winter, as regional tourism directors have said hotels in other Caribbean destinations are having to do. This is in reference to hotels that increased their prices expecting to benefit from a boom in tourism brought about by the wish to spend the first day of the next millennium on a beach. Minister Jiménez said that tourism to the DR is up 13% in the first 10 months of 1999. He said that the country’s international airports are all Y2K ready. Yesterday, Hoy newspaper interviewed Arturo Villanueva, executive vice president of the Hotel & Restaurant Association who said that there could be a lull in traffic on 31 December, as travelers avoid that day, just in case.
