Collado: “We want airlines that lower travel prices”

The Dominican Republic is open to “support” all the airlines that wish to invest and there is the intention to encourage them to do so and to be competitive with American and European airlines, assured the Minister of Tourism David Collado.

He recognizes that the country’s main challenge is air connectivity, to reach the figure of 10 million tourists visiting this territory. “It is of utmost importance and that is why I have dedicated myself to learn and go directly to the tour operators. Our priority is to improve connectivity. I have met with airlines, tour operators and travel agencies. I have done so in Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio, Texas and Miami. And now we are going to Canada, at the end of the month (…) said the official.

He assured that we must open our doors to all airlines that come to lower prices. “That is the strategy that we must have as a country, because it is unfair that Dominicans and the Diaspora have to pay 1,700 dollars in December for an economy ticket to visit their families,” he said.

And applying the formula “supply and demand”, he explained that when there is competition, prices go down, contrary to what happens when there is one or two airlines sharing the markets.

“When that happens, it is very difficult to be competitive and we are going -always respecting free trade- to create competitiveness, because what matters to us is to lower the cost of air tickets to the Dominican Republic”, he said.

He said that they are working on a bill to make the local airlines more competitive, so that this will allow them to last in time and so that they can have economic prices of tickets to the Dominican Republic all the time, without being suffocated by the big companies.

Regarding the lack of tourists from Russia, due to the conflict between that nation and Ukraine, the strategy has been to strengthen England, France and Germany, in terms of attracting tourists from those nations.

On the other hand, he informed that together with the Dominican Port Authority they are working on a project to create a cruise port in Barahona, in order to provide more attractions to this southern province of the country. He said that the idea is to create a route of larimar and other beauties that Barahona possesses.

Regarding the Palenque beach, San Cristóbal, he explained that they are working on a bidding process to transform that recreational space. “We will put it that will have nothing to envy to the beach of any hotel in the country. That is what we are doing… making our beaches spaces that have nothing to envy to the tourist complexes, so that our Dominicans do not feel that they are less, if there is a hotel next to them”, he said.

Regarding Pedernales, he indicated that the process being carried out in the area could be slower because a series of laws must be complied with, which establish deadlines, as is the case of the Law of Public-Private Alliances.

7 seawalls are on the agenda of realizations

Expanding the dialogue on Pedernales, where the government has an ambitious development plan, Collado expressed: “Yes, I can tell you that there are eleven thousand rooms, by hotel chains with signatures of intent, that they are part of the project. We continue working and moving forward. I am convinced that there will be a cruise port, which has already been confirmed. Pedernales is going to be a reality and we as a ministry are going to build the pier, we already have it budgeted (…)”, he added.

He assured that the Government will build the seawall in San Pedro de Macorís, Santo Domingo East (España Avenue), Samaná, Pedernales, Montecristi, Cabrera and others. There will be seven.

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