Speaking at the gala dinner gathering of the UNWTO ‘Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth for Sustainable Tourism’ on 28 November 2017 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, President Danilo Medina invited the Caribbean to transform the tourism model in the region. Speaking in Spanish, Medina said during his visit to Jamaica he had signed a collaboration agreement with the Jamaican government to drive forward multi-destination tourism. The DR also signed a memorandum of understanding for an aviation agreement. The conference took place from 27-29 November 2017.
In his remarks, President Medina challenged other regional countries to follow and develop the full potential of the Caribbean experience. “This is an opportunity to position the Caribbean as a single destination, that does not mean we will stop promoting the Dominican Republic or Jamaica,” he said. “It means we recognize that there is a greater market; a visitor who wants more than one experience in his trip, who wants to experience diversity of cultures and take advantage of his visit to see several places,” explained Medina.
He said Caribbean governments can do much to advance this project, including open skies, migratory facilitation, better and more efficient airports, reduction in travel taxes and joint promotion. He challenged tour operators, travel agencies, air and sea transporters to design attractive multi-destination products.
“We want to work with you to transform tourism so that not only does it motorize growth but that it motorizes sustainable development. That it not be just about creating jobs, but that these be quality jobs for the progress of our peoples. That it not just mean more revenues, but revenues for all the sectors,” said Medina.
The keynote speaker at the dinner, Medina called for transforming the tourism model in the Caribbean to add adventure, ecological, historical, cultural, culinary, sports and health tourism to the offering of beach and relaxation. “There is a need to do this to guarantee sustainability so that tourism resources reach more communities,” he said. He said that several communities could become attractive for tourism, but this need to be carried out in a low density and sustainable manner. He specifically mentioned this is the case in the south and northwest of the Dominican Republic. He shared his belief that tourists are interested in authentic experiences, so betting on sustainable tourism will be beneficial to all.
In his opening remarks, Medina had praise for the secretary general of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Taleb Rifai. Rifai in his own address at the conference had strongly urged Caribbean tourism stakeholders to stop promoting modern-day plantations called exclusive resorts.
The Jamaica Gleaner in its coverage of that speech said that Rifai was obviously not concerned about ruffling feathers as he warned against the practice of building five-star resorts in three-star communities, where the citizens were not part of the transformation. He insisted tourism stakeholders can not continue to have their visitors in bubbles, where there are walls between the visitor and the community. Rifai emphasized that it was not the model that the UNTWO was looking for.
According to him, the opportunities in tourism should carry the end result of inclusive economic growth, more decent jobs, the distribution of wealth, shared prosperity and respect for each other. He insisted tourism stakeholders could not continue to have their visitors in bubbles, where there are walls between the visitor and the community.
President Medina returned to the San Isidro Air Base at 1:45am on Wednesday, 29 November 2017. He traveled with Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas, Administrative Minister José Ramón Peralta, Environment Minister Francisco Domínguez Brito, Tourism Minister Francisco Javier García and Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo, spokesman for the Presidency Roberto Rodríguez Marchena, among other staff. Attending and participating in the conference for the private sector of the Dominican Republic were Frank Rainieri and Jake Kheel of the Puntacana Group, and Spanish hoteliers Abel Matutes of Palladium Hotels and Enrique Marchena of the Universidad Central del Este, among others.
Listen to President Danilo Medina’s speech in Jamaica at:
https://livestream.com/PresidenciaRD/conferenciaempleoycrecimientoinclusivo/videos/166549334
Read more:
https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias/danilo-propone-agenda-de-trabajo-nacional-regional-y-mundial-para-avanzar-hacia-futuro-del
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20171128/stop-promoting-modern-day-plantations-called-exclusive-resorts-says-rifai
http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/jamaica_programme_a4_web-vfinal.pdf
29 November 2017
