President Luis Abinader spoke at the opening of the 2020 Virtual Fair of the National Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores) on Monday, 2 November 2020. The virtual trade show seeks to tell the world the DR is open to tourism. It will take place from 2 to 6 November in a semi in-person manner. Events are streamed through the Ministry of Tourism website.
Tourism has been one of the sectors most impacted by the Covid-19 virus. Air and cruise arrivals collapsed after airports shut down in March. Asonahores and the Ministry of Tourism are hopeful the 2 million mark in tourism arrivals by the end of the year. In its January-September 2020 tourism overview, the Central Bank statistics division revealed that travel this year is down 65% compared to 2019. Arrivals of non-resident visitors reached 1,743,480 compared to 3,244,218 for the same first three quarters of the year in 2019. Non-resident Dominican visitor arrivals are down 48.4%. These were only 402,953 arrivals for the first nine months of the year.
Speaking at the event streamed from the Presidential Palace, President Abinader says his administration is promoting responsible recovery of the industry with everyone’s health foremost.
The President recognized the work, commitment and resilience of Asonahores and the support and drive that the government has received from this organization for the recovery of the industry.
“In us they will always find an ally, and I am sure that together we will overcome this challenge and take advantage of this opportunity to come out stronger and better prepared,” the head of state said.
“The dynamism shown by Asonahores and its vocation to create inter-sectorial alliances with the government and other fundamental actors of society, strengthened us, increasing the credibility of our association, expanding our links with other organizations, and unifying our management team and strengthening our capacity to work and manage crises,” said Rainieri at the opening ceremony.
Rainieri said that if the control of the disease’s spread continues, year 2020 could close with some two million passengers air arrivals. She forecast it would take until 2023 for the country to return to the six million visitor level of 2019.
Andres Marranzini, executive vice president for Asonahores explained that the event is one of a series of strategies developed by Asonahores to diminish the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the tourism sector. The event seeks to strengthen the positioning of the Dominican Republic as the leading destination in the Caribbean.
At the event, Tourism Minister David Collado stressed the importance of the tourism industry in the economy and jobs.
Also participating in the event was Vice President Raquel Peña; Presidency Minister Lisandro Macarrulla; Administrative Minister José Ignacio Paliza; Tourism Minister David Collado; and Labor Minister Luis Miguel de Camps.
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Asonahores
N Digital
3 November 2020