Last week, Tulio Navarette of the newspaper Listin Diario, reported how impressed everyone was with the design, practicality and size of the Dominican stand. Those who learned that attendance at the fair was only possible due to the efforts of the Minister of Tourism, Frank Jorge Elías, to secure the funds as none were assigned by the Dominican government, were even more impressed with the effort.
The Dominican Minister of Tourism is known as “el mago,” for his creative solutions to money problems. Jorge Elías also secured the participation of Miriam Cruz, who’s performance was one of the highlights of the fair. The renowned merengue star did not charge for her performance. Tulio Navarette reported that José Manuel Amat and Gabriel Felip, of Occidental Hotels had words of praise for the Minister of Tourism for “a stand commensurate with the level of the progress achieved by the D.R.’s tourist industry over the last few years.”