Arturo Villanueva, executive vice president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, said that the fact that Dominican vacation packages are pegged to the US$ is working against Dominican hotels this year. With the Euro dropping in value to the US dollar, Dominican holidays are becoming more expensive for Europeans. Villanueva pointed out that the Euro is now 0.89 cents to the dollar. European tourists command the largest market share of Dominican holidays. Villanueva says that the Euro is the currency of 11 of 15 European Union countries. He said that the DR has to compete with 31 destinations in Caribbean and Mexico. He pointed out that Cuba is already transacting its holidays in Euros. (24 August 2000)
