With the aim of reinforcing the program Zero Bureaucracy, towards an Efficient Government, President Luis Abinader headed, together with the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, the launching of the Central Unit of Tourism Procedures, which will streamline the investment processes of this sector, a transversal pillar for the Dominican economy.
Through Zero Bureaucracy, towards an Efficient Government, clear and transparent regulatory frameworks are promoted to improve the quality of regulations and management capacity in times of change.
President Abinader highlighted that it has been a campaign promise and his political career, the fight against the bureaucratization of processes and the institution of a more efficient and transparent service culture.
In this sense, he said that they are working so that next September the citizen portal will be enabled where everything can be integrated and the single window of each institution will be created, unifying 157 government procedures.
With this single window and the new platform of the Central Unit of Tourism Procedures, the President assured that the Ministry of Tourism will be able to approve all the permits required by the public administration for a project.
“We do nothing with making this process well expedited and efficient if it has to go to the other ministries and take a long time,” he concluded.
Central Unit for Tourism Procedures
It is a digital platform that connects the State institutions linked to the approval processes of projects and licenses in the tourism sector, reducing time and providing the user with supervisory control over all its processes.
This translates into the streamlining of procedures between investors and the administration. In addition, it promotes the institutional transformation of the government, making it more agile and closer to users.
While the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, highlighted that this project is part of the transformation and support to the entire sector, to the allies that every day bet on the Dominican Republic as a destination and work in favor of the development of tourism.
“An efficient administration is one that puts the citizen and the investor at the center. Working hand in hand does not mean sitting in the same place, it means that we all play a part and can have an impact on the result, and that is what we are doing today”.
Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on the Dominican economy
Collado also indicated that the Central Unit of Tourist Procedures strengthens and attracts foreign investment, which dynamizes the economy, generates jobs and allows the realization of works in favor of the whole Dominican society.
In 2021 alone, foreign direct investment amounted to US$960 million, which translated into 3,500 hotel rooms, 204 thousand tourists and 19 thousand direct and indirect jobs.
For the next 10 years, these figures will generate 20 billion pesos in taxes and 2.45 billion dollars in foreign currency.
Likewise, there are currently 72 hotel projects under construction in 10 provinces, which will result in 4.738 billion dollars in investment, more than 36 billion pesos in purchases from Dominican companies, more than 40 thousand jobs and 25 thousand hotel rooms.
Functioning of the Central Unit of Tourism Procedures
Users will be able to manage their projects and requirements under the same profile, send data and make payments digitally, verify each stage and have constant feedback and communication with the ministry’s areas without having to move from one place to another.
MITUR’s Planning and Project Director, Shaney Peña, informed that from now on it will not be necessary to print blueprints, a digital signature and a unique QR code for approved plans will be included, which saves time and doubles the team’s productivity.
Meanwhile, Brenda Morales, director of the Technical Unit of the Tourism Development Council (CONFOTUR), emphasized the importance of the interconnection of institutions such as the Treasury and the Ministry of the Environment, giving a qualitative leap in the user’s experience.
The activity was attended by the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza; the directors of Customs, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón; of Prodominicana, Biviana Riveiro; of Internal Taxes, Luis Valdez; of the Tourist Police, Minoru Matsunaga; of the OGTIC, Pedro Quezada.
Also the president of ASONAHORES, Rafael Blanco Tejeda and its past president, Paola Rainieri; the CEO of the Sheraton Hotel, Paula Lama; the director of United Capital, Javier Tejada; the vice ministers of Housing, Vivian Reyes; and of MITUR, Jacqueline Mora, Patricia Mejía, Carlos Peguero and Roberto Henríquez.
