In the country, this sector is the main activity that contributes to the growth of the economy, considering that before the pandemic it contributed 15% of the GDP, 500 thousand jobs and US$ 7.5 billion per year.
So far in 2022, sales of micro, small and medium-sized companies in the tourism sector presented a 105 % growth compared to the same period in 2020, surpassing their pre-pandemic levels, according to a study conducted by the Alegra.com platform.
The accounting, administration and electronic invoicing platform for MSMEs in the tourism sector, expects sales of MSMEs to exceed US$ 8 million, which means an increase of 41% compared to 2021, where sales were recorded at US$ 5,680 million; and of 7% more compared to 2019, a year that closed sales for US$ 7,471 million.
“Although the sector has been recovering after the repercussions of the pandemic, there are still some challenges and opportunities to take advantage of and not only to return to the way it was before the pandemic, but to modernize the tourism sector from its core, the SMEs”, commented Haydeé Cabrera, strategic leader of Alegra.com, for the Dominican Republic.
In this regard, Cabrera noted that this coming September 27 will be celebrated World Tourism Day, this economic activity brings together all MSMEs that provide accommodation services, gastronomy, transportation, travel agencies and recreation.
In the country this is the main activity that contributes to the growth of the economy, considering that before the pandemic it contributed 15% of the GDP, 500 thousand jobs and US$ 7,500 million per year.
Challenges for MSMEs
Cabrera explained that the tourism sector is the most successful sector of the Dominican economy; it was designated by the WTO (World Tourism Organization) as the number 1 country in the world in the recovery of tourism, becoming a reference in the Caribbean area.
He attributes this growth to multiple factors, one of them being the sanitary security that the country presents in a post-pandemic context, in addition to the recovery of the demand from the United States, a country that is ahead of the rest in terms of the vaccination process and that experienced a great increase in leisure trips abroad.
Tourism projects were also part of the sector’s recovery; currently, according to the Consejo de Fomento Turístico (Confotur), there is an estimated investment of approximately US$ 331.5 million in 18 tourism projects.
However, there are still some opportunities to be taken advantage of, such as the diversification of the tourism product, as well as the management of the sector’s MSMEs to ensure their integral development; in the latter case, many ventures lack an administrative and operational structure that are much clearer in large companies, this prevents them from making strategic decisions for the growth of the business.
He points out that having a cloud platform for business administration, accounting and invoicing can be crucial in a rapidly changing landscape where having business data and information can help make sound decisions.
“The significant growth that the sector is returning to the country is an opportunity for Dominican entrepreneurs to enhance their businesses. Thus, allying with organization and accounting systems that allow them to gain time and peace of mind is the key to guarantee the full performance of the sector,” concludes Cabrera.
