The Ministry of Tourism announced yesterday the visit of Francesco Frangialli, secretary general of the World Tourism Organization. He is a last minute participant in the presentation to the Barahona/Pedernales community of the Ministry of Tourism program for the hotel development of the area. The workshop program had featured Henryk Handszuh, as representing the WTO. Clave Digital sources indicate that Frangialli is now replacing Handszuh as speaker for the WTO.
Clave Digital speculates that Frangialli decided to visit after the pre candidacy of Dominican tourism expert Victor Cabral was launched to challenge Frangialli’s aspirations to a third term in the United Nations-affiliated tourism body. Cabral has received the endorsement of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association and several from the local private sector. Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez, who admitted that a Dominican candidate would be better for the country, says he has already pledged the support of the Dominican Republic to Frangialli. He explained that Frangialli is supporting the Ministry of Tourism’s proposals for the development of the previously protected environmental area of Bahia de las Aguilas in Pedernales.
The workshop will take place 3-4 March and will address new prospects for tourism development in the southwest, and other broader tourism issues. It is sponsored by the USAID. The topics to be covered include: “National Objectives in Tourism, “Statistical Vision of the Tourism Industry,” “Tourism in International Negotiations,” and a panel on “Factors that affect Tourism Trade.”
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