Ramon Alfredo Bordas, interviewed in Puerto Plata by El Siglo newspaper said that he is in favor of doubling the number of hotel rooms available in the DR. The DR is today the Caribbean’s largest destination, with more than 45,000 hotel rooms. At the same time, Bordas, a private investor himself, said he will endeavor to attract tourists with a higher spending power and has plans to increase advertising abroad. He said other priorities will be improve hotel staff training, increase cruise ship tourism and improve the environment in tourism zones. Bordas said one of his priorities is to increase the number of jobs in tourism. He favors increased investment in sewage and potable water facilities in tourism zones. Bordas began his career in tourism being one of the first Dominican hotel investors, when together with a group of friends he invested in Heavens, a resort in the Playa Dorada complex. He moved on to work with the Allegro all-inclusive modality hotel chain. Allegro is in the process of being sold to the Spanish hotel chain, Occidental. (7 June 2000)
