“The successes of the first half of 2024 may make us think that tourism has reached a ceiling level of growth, but this is not the case because we can continue to grow,” said the president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores), David Llibre.
“It is clear to us that when we witness these achievements and figures, we can come to the conclusion that tourism has reached a ceiling level of growth. However, the ceiling has not arrived and we can continue working and growing more,” he reiterated.
The following is the full text of the words of the president of Asonahores at the presentation of tourism figures for the month of June, led by Minister David Collado:
Once again, we are gathered to learn about the achievements of Dominican Tourism, specifically the figures for the month of June, where we continue to witness an upward trend of record results.
It is clear to us that when we witness these achievements and figures, we can conclude that tourism has reached a plateau of growth. However, the ceiling has not been reached and we can continue to work and grow further.
We are currently developing the new tourist poles of the country. We currently have the challenge of relaunching Puerto Plata with its new Punta Bergantín project, as well as the development of the entire south with the launching of the project that this administration has promoted in Cabo Rojo in Pedernales. And also to continue promoting the Miches destination as we have been doing; and not to forget Samaná itself, which needs to increase the number of rooms and overnight visitors to the area.
As I said before, we have not reached the top and we must always aspire to more, that is why Asonahores proposes to continue working hand in hand with the authorities to continue improving the experience for our visitors. When I mention experience, I am referring to the experiences inside the tourist facilities that we must continue remodeling, updating, offering new services that allow us to maintain the same level or better than our competition.
As well as the experience outside the hotel facilities that allow our visitors to move autonomously on our roads in a safe, illuminated and signposted manner, so that their experience is more enriching and they can have a greater impact on the nearby communities.
We must continue to prepare our population so that more and more Dominicans can collaborate with the sector and benefit from this growing industry.
These are just a few examples that show us how we can continue to work and aspire to much more. We have proudly celebrated the achievement of 10 million visitors in 2023 and this year everything points to the fact that we will surpass 11 million. And the truth is that we believe that the DR can reach double its population in visitors annually, that is, receive more than 20 million visitors.
This is not a dream, but a goal, a goal that makes us work tirelessly to maintain our current structure, which has been correctly baptized as the law of competitiveness of the sector that allows us to level ourselves with other competing countries. This is what allows us to create new rooms, keep our tourist and complementary offer updated and therefore maintain the rhythm of visitor arrivals increasing.
We take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate the Ministry of Tourism, especially the Minister and his team, for their efforts and for continuing to bet on this sector as the engine and backbone of the Dominican economy.
Source: Arecoa.com
