Enrique Eduardo de Marchena Kaluche, president of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants, told Hoy newspaper that if the structure of prices in the country does not soon reflect the appreciation of the peso, there will be many firings in the tourism industry in coming months. He said in an interview that the operational costs are not in synch with the present value of the peso at RD$27 to the US$1. He said that vendors supply food, fuel, electricity, and wages on a RD$40 to US$1 rate. He said that today the gasoline sold in the DR is one of the most expensive in Latin America, and the same can be said for electricity, which costs US$0.22 kWh. He said that most hotel rates are quoted in dollars, but expenses are paid in pesos. De Marchena said that a rate of RD$37 to US$1 would be closer to reality.