President Luis Abinader said that “the best times for tourism are yet to come” when participating in a forum organized by Exceltur on “Dominican Republic: A Country of Reference for the Internationalization of the Spanish Tourism Industry.”
Abinader spoke about how from day one after starting his government in August 2020 he understood that the tourism industry’s recovery was vital for the economy’s recovery. He spoke of the importance of the public and private sector joint efforts in this direction. In Madrid, Tourism Minister David Collado announced that the tourism industry had recovered to the point that arrivals in January 2022 were more than those in pre-pandemic January 2019.
“We understood that if the development of tourism stopped, the development of the economy would stop,” he said. The President promised investors participating in the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) that the Dominican government would bring about “better times for tourism.”
In his presentation on the Dominican Republic, the President emphasized that the country’s Central Bank currently has international reserves of over US$13 billion. He observed, nevertheless, that the rise in oil prices would have a high negative impact on the economy if global tourism does not recover.
When assessing the importance of the impact of tourism on the economy, the head of government said that the income from the “industry without chimney” represents 30% percent of the foreign currency revenues, that are 26% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He specified that to guarantee legal security to foreign investors, his administration is working on strengthening institutions.
President Luis Abinader is participating in presentations of Pedernales and Miches as a new tourism destination ripe for investments with the government’s backing.
During the Ministry of Tourism road show before the start of Fitur, President Luis Abinader and Tourism Minister David Collado received a recognition plaque from the UN World Tourism Organization for the success story of the recovery of the tourism industry after Covid-19.
President Luis Abinader has on his agenda attending the official inauguration of the Fitur travel fair in a ceremony to be attended by the King and Queen of Spain on 19 January 2022. This is the second time that the Dominican Republic participates as the Fitur country partner. In this capacity, President Abinader is participating in the opening ceremony.
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El Dia
19 January 2022