For Frank Elías Rainieri, the Cabo Rojo Tourist Development project in Pedernales will be unique because it will be born with a master plan and an important capital that will allow to develop the destination completely in a first stage, which did not happen with Punta Cana, which grew little by little until it became one of the most important poles of the country.
Regarding permits for the execution of new initiatives, he assures that the country, like others, has processes that must be complied with within the framework of the law, although the government is trying to make them agile and efficient in all entities.
According to Rainieri, the Dominican nation also feels that it has legal security and people are already noticing that it is a star in the entire hemisphere.
Mountain tourism
Rainieri not only believes in sun and beach tourism, but also in mountain tourism, due to its beautiful landscapes and the tranquility they project.
For him, the future of this type of tourism is arriving, but it is still lacking a master plan and land management to create the conditions that lend themselves to destinations such as Jarabacoa and Constanza, which are places of retirement and second homes.
Rainieri states that it is also necessary to create a wastewater structure to regularize that aspect and make an adequate planning.
“I see Jarabacoa and Constanza more as retirement destinations than hotels because the hotels here are more ecolodge,” he adds.
Together with the mayor’s office of Higüey and Verón, the Ministry of Tourism is working on updating Punta Cana’s master plan for sustainable development.
The Puntacana Group is also working on the reinforcement of its four projects Punta Cana Village, Punta Cana Palma, Ciudad Cayena and Ciudad Caracolí, which are spaces for people who go to the area to work.
Potential market
The North American market is in the sights of local tourism not only because it currently represents 40% of tourist arrivals to the Dominican Republic, but also because it is the one with the greatest growth potential.
According to Rainieri, in the year 2000, not even 20,000 North Americans were arriving at the Punta Cana airport, a figure that today translates into 1,800,000 thanks to the fact that in the past there were no American hotel brands in the country and now there are.
Also, a repositioning of many hotels of these brands that will continue to attract U.S. citizens is currently underway.
Also, the Punta Cana Group players are working with new airlines to bring new routes to Europe and the United States.
