Representatives of the public and private tourism sector still have not begun a planned European promotion of the DR because the government has not come through with a promised US$25 million grant. The Tourism Department decided to increase its promotion of the DR in Europe to compensate for the drop in North American tourism due to the terrorist attacks.
The Director of the National Budget Office, Luis Ernesto Pérez Cuevas, had said a private bank loan would be taken out to cover the grant. However, a committee of tourism and business representatives had to cancel a promotional tour of Europe earlier this month because the money hadn’t arrived.
Meanwhile, the vice president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, Arturo Villanueva, says the committee hasn’t left for Europe because it has been arranging meetings with tour operators. He told El Siglo that the President’s office is coordinating the funding and “everything is going according to plan.” (22 October 2001)
