The general coordinator for the Colonial City Tourism Development Program, architect Maribel Villalona says that an estimated 682,000 international visitors strolled the renovated streets of the historic center of Santo Domingo in 2017. The program is a Ministry of Tourism effort that was funded by a US$31.5 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank.
Villalona said data shows there has been a 64% increase in visitations to the Colonial City from 2010 to 2017. The Ministry of Tourism has head the program that has invested around US$30 million in improving city streets, sidewalks, and upgrading facades of historic buildings in the area.
This has led to a major private sector investment in small hotels, activities and stores and museums, with around 500 new businesses. Villalona says the number of businesses and services in the area has almost doubled. She observed that average per capita spending by tourists who stay in the Colonial City is above the national average.
“The tourist visiting the Colonial City will find a historic city full of life, with public spaces accessible to all,” she said. She observed the Colonial City is safe, as it has an innovative video surveillance system and a renewed urban lighting system along around four kilometers of streets. She highlighted the area is ideal for taking photographs in a backdrop of scenery steeped in almost 500 years of history, devoid of modern visual contamination.
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Listin Diario
1 May 2018
