Tourism Minister David Collado announced on Monday, 31 August 2020 a new measure to relieve the restaurant sector during these difficult Covid-19 times. The government-owned electricity utilities will remove the fixed charged for installed capacity. This is a major relief for struggling restaurants and closed bars. The Ministry of Tourism, Asonahores and the private restaurant sector reached an agreement with Edesur general manager Milton Morrison in Santo Domingo to eliminate the charge until January 2021.
Many restaurants have closed and others are doing 25% of their regular sales. Restaurants were recently allowed to offer delivery services through 11pm. The Dominican Republic is under a curfew whereby restaurants need to close to the general public before 5pm on Saturday and Sunday and at 7pm on weekdays. This means that evening sales are limited to delivery.
During the press briefing with the participation of Paola Rainieri, president of Asonahores and Andres Marranzini, executive director, Tourism Minister Collado announced that Israeli breathalyzer tests will be used at Dominican airports for arriving passengers. He said these have proven to be 93-94% effective. He said the Health Ministry has already received 40-50,000 tests and more are scheduled to arrive soon. He said airport testing will resume on 15 September and passengers will be randomly tested.
The Ministry of Tourism is hopeful between November and December some 400,000 tourists will come. Right now, hotels are mainly catering to domestic travelers on weekends. He said foreign tourism represents at most 8% of hotel occupancy.
“The markets are changing and this situation of Covid-19 requires readjustments. Many government plans respond to these adjustments,” explained Marranzini.
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El Dia
Listin Diario
31 August 2020