Minister of Tourism David Collado called for the countries to unify to find solutions to sargassum the same way as the world united to combat Covid-19. He said so far there is no solution and favored that the solution be found in the oceans, before the problem reaches the coasts. “The only way that a solution will be found is if all the countries that are affected, and those that have the capacities and the technologies to find a solution, collaborate in solidarity with us,” said Collado when speaking at the World Tourism Organization Executive Council meeting in Punta Cana on 17 May 2023.
“We have more than a decade talking about sargassum as if it was a topic. This is not a topic. It is an existential threat to our industry… so strong, so dangerous and as serious as Covid-19,” he said when speaking during the International Forum on Sustainable Tourism at the WTO Executive Council meeting.
Collado eventually sees sargassum converting into biomass but says this requires more public investment and companies with the know-how to convert what is today a problem into a business opportunity.
He said the Dominican government has made available US$6 million for a public-private fund to find solutions. The private sector has agreed to add another US$6 million. The Fund for Mitigation and Management of Sargassum is a public-private initiative presented by the National Hotel & Tourism Association (Asonahores).
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DR1 Travel News
18 May 2023