After considering that the reactivation of the tourism industry has been of great importance for the recovery of the economy, President Luis Abinader proclaimed that “the best times for tourism are yet to come”.
These considerations were raised during his participation in the forum organized by Exceltur on “DR: A country of reference for the internationalization of the Spanish tourism industry” and in a recognition of the country by the World Tourism Organization (WTO).
He said that since his arrival, the Government was able to understand that the recovery of tourism, which was impacted by Covid-19 in 2020, was vital for the revitalization of the economy, which has allowed the incorporation of most of the jobs that had been lost.
He assured that the alliance from the State with the private sector and commercial banking was very important for the Dominican Republic to now exhibit the achievements of the sector, with millions of tourists and more than 12 percent economic growth.
“He understood that if we stopped the development of tourism, we would stop the development of the economy,” he said, and promised investors participating in the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) that the Dominican government would bring about “better times for tourism”.
In his presentation on the Dominican Republic, he emphasized that it currently has international reserves of over 13 billion dollars, but indicated that the rise in oil prices would have a high negative impact on the economy if tourism did not recover.
When assessing the importance of the impact of tourism on the economy, the governor said that the income from the so-called “industry without chimneys” represents 30 percent of the foreign currency collected by the State each year, constituting 26 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He specified that in order to guarantee legal security to foreign investors, his administration is working on the strengthening of institutions, and that a climate of peace prevails.
