The Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) has some 100 million dollars in funds, which the management has saved, and which are used for the international promotion of the country.
The information was offered by the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, who emphasized that he is working with efficiency, transparency, and there is not a single decision that the Marketing Committee has taken unanimously together with the private sector.
He highlighted that in promoting the country as a tourist destination they have been able to save more than DR$7.5 billion, according to Acento.
“We are taking this country to levels it had never reached by saving funds, and I can say that we almost have US$100 million saved in Mitur’s dollar account. I have never had a balance of this nature,” he said.
During the presentation of tourism statistics for the month of September, Collado said that they have saved every penny, because “there is a generation observing the behavior of the Ministry of Tourism in the administration of public funds.”
“They are funds from the national promotion and are part of the savings that the Ministry of Tourism has, with that we continue to work. They are in the fund where the public-private Marketing Committee is, and there we are making the investments, but the truth is that we have spent much less than what was being spent before”, he added.
He detailed that as part of the strategies they have more presence in the different countries and important cities for tourism in the Dominican Republic, have dedicated more time to digital platforms, have direct contact with tour operators, tour guides, travel agents, and have done 50 road shows.
“I personally have gone to 50 cities or countries to present the Dominican Republic, and in some destinations that are extremely important like New York, I have already gone three times (…) fifty trips in three years, if you calculate thirty-six months, then I have traveled per month more than once. There is an important fact, I do not use per diems from the Ministry of Tourism, nor hotel rooms, nor payment of air transportation, and I have done this since I was a congressman, nor as mayor of the city of Santo Domingo. I have never accepted per diems from the Dominican State, I do this as a humble contribution, but I never thought I would become Minister of Tourism”, assured Collado.
Source: Arecoa
