Enjoying its tropical climate, listening to merengue on the weekend, learning about centuries of history in the museums of the Colonial City or enjoying a mofongo with a cold drink are some of the activities that define the Dominican Republic as a tourist destination.
However, in order for foreign visitors to take advantage of what the Dominican capital can offer them, beyond entertainment, an urban, economic and social transformation is required to allow them to also carry out work activities without leaving the metropolis.
This is the understanding of the director of the Santo Domingo tourism cluster, Mónika Infante, who indicated that Santo Domingo is preparing to become a destination for meetings, congresses and conventions for foreign and Dominican tourists.
She revealed that 700 rooms are under construction, which will be added to the 8,000 available, strengthening Santo Domingo’s hotel capacity.
“Converting Santo Domingo into a convention center allows for the sustainable development of the city, attracts new tourists and makes it the tourist capital of the Caribbean,” he explained.
He indicated that Santo Domingo is in a strategic point to develop convention tourism, as it is bordered by the Caribbean Sea and is located in the southwestern part of the island.
The development of this type of tourism is aimed at boosting the promotion of the capital as a leading destination in the Caribbean for meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions.
For the executive president of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Asonahores), Rafael Blanco Tejera, positioning Santo Domingo as a convention center is to diversify Dominican tourism.
He expressed that the capital has a wide range of tourist offerings including hotels, cultural attractions located between the museums and the Colonial Zone, gastronomy and resources such as the Malecon, parks, beaches and international airports that complement this tourist offer.
“The convention bureau will position our capital as one of the best options in the meetings industry,” he said.
