The president of the Barceló hotel and tourism group in the Dominican Republic, Felix Felipe, announced that the Barcelo Convention Center should be operational by May 2001. He said the Spanish company has invested US$16 million into the center and that it will be the largest in the Caribbean. The center has capacity for meetings of up to 3,000 persons and up to 24 meeting rooms. He said that marketing efforts have already secured a meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of Latin America, and they hope to attract the Miss Universe pageant in 2003. In the area, Barcelo operates the Bavaro Beach, Bavaro Garden, Bavaro Casino, Bavaro Golf, Bavaro Palace hotels. Felipe announced the construction of two additional 500 room hotels with oversized bedrooms especially attractive to the US market. He said that by the end of 2001 the company could operate 25 hotels in the DR. Barcelo’s first investment in the DR was the Bavaro Beach which opened in 1985. (30 March 2001)
