Tourism ministers of the Americas toured the ecological and social initiatives of the Puntacana Group Foundation (FGPC), in order to learn about the sustainability and development models implemented by Grupo Puntacana for the benefit of communities and the environment.
The tour was attended by the Dominican Republic’s Minister of Tourism, David Collado; the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, among other Latin American tourism ministers, who were accompanied by the president and CEO of Grupo Puntacana, Frank Rainieri, and the vice president of Institutional Relations and Special Projects, Simón Suárez.
The itinerary through the Puntacana Group Foundation’s social projects included a visit to the Oscar de la Renta Pediatric Center, which, since 2017, offers primary health services to children from an early age in the Eastern region and the Puntacana Children’s Diversity Center (CEDI), where children with special needs affected by Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and learning disabilities up to the age of 12 are cared for.
They also learned about the effectiveness and impact of the ecological initiatives and environmental programs developed at the Sustainability Center, located at the Puntacana Resort & Club, such as the vegetable garden, vermicomposting and the products created with recyclable materials at the Our Lady of Punta Cana Workshop.
To conclude, the ministers also enjoyed amenities such as the Ojos Indígenas Ecological Reserve, Corales Golf Course, Playa Blanca, The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club, La Cana Golf and Beach Club, Six Senses Spa and Tortuga Bay Puntacana Resort & Club.
Recently, Puntacana Resort & Club was nominated as the Caribbean’s Leading Green Resort in the 2021 edition of the World Travel Awards, an award that recognizes excellence in the different segments of the tourism industry.
The secretary general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, took advantage of the occasion to present the official plaque with the distinction of UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Ambassador to Grupo Puntacana president and CEO Frank Rainieri, announced in February of this year.
Meeting of Tourism Ministers of the Americas 2021
The officials arrived in the country for the Meeting of Tourism Ministers of the Americas 2021, held May 6-9 in Punta Cana, and organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic (MITUR).
The meeting approved important joint initiatives to achieve the “full recovery” of the tourism industry, which in the Dominican Republic alone generates more than 500,000 jobs and represents 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, described the summit as “a bellwether in the recovery of the tourism industry”.
