With a call for unity and organization, Rafael Blanco Tejera, president of the Samana Tourism Cluster, opened the First Annual Meeting for the Touristic Development of Samana on Tuesday, 25 June. At the conference organized by the Tourism Cluster of Samana and the Ministry of Tourism, business and government representatives set out their agenda for provincial tourism development and stakeholders met to discuss marketing strategies.
Speaking during the opening of the conference, Alexandria Panehal, director of USAID, one of the event sponsors, called for including senior citizens and people with special needs in tourism development programs, adding that there needed to be a greater trickle-down effect from the tourism industry to the community.
Michael Ronan, vice president for governmental relations for Royal Caribbean International, stressed the importance of improving the shopping experience and making Samana hassle-free for the independent tourist.
Artemio Santos Santos, director of the Quintana Roo office, stressed the importance of involving the local people and the environment for sustainable tourism development. He presented the case of how hurricanes were turned into positives by communicating that tourists would be getting a renovated product with the cleanup. Santos said that the airport is a key partner in tourism, as this is the first and last experience the tourist will have at the destination.