2008: A Growth Year for Dominican Tourism

Despite the negative panorama of the international financial crisis, the final numbers for 2008 were positive in terms of foreign tourism as well as investments, both of which continued to flow into the Dominican Republic.

A particularly significant achievement was the arrival of 1,006,286 visitors (up 1.61% from last year) from the United States, the source of 34% of the Dominican tourism market.

Although Important airline companies temporarily cut back on their flights, among other negative variables, the flow of foreign visitors arriving by air reached 3,140,253 during the first eleven months of the year, an increase of 2.10% from that same period last year. In 2006, the increase barely reached 1%.
 
In general terms, the preliminary data from the Central Bank indicates that the flow of tourism will reach more than 4,300,000 arrivals including the 500,000 who arrive by cruise ship. The latter number is also a record without precedent in our country.

A particularly significant achievement was the arrival of 1,006,286 visitors (up 1.61% from last year) from the United States, the source of 34% of the Dominican tourism market.

Other positive as well as revealing examples were those from Canada, which make up 20% of the tourism flow, as arrivals jumped 10%. France, our largest market in Europe, increased by 3%, and is still growing from its negative 7% in 2007. Among the emerging markets, Russia was significant as arrivals from there  shot up 88% 

The DR:  A Magnet for Investments

If the above data seems good, large tourism investments were imminently more impressive. Hotels and real estate projects attracted by the country’s growth and safety record arrived in large numbers showing that the DR an all-around primo destination.

Since just the middle of October, the Council for Tourism Management (CONFOTUR) approved projects for more and US $9.65 billion dollars with others equivalent to US $1.45 billion to be approved by the end of 2008.

Tourism Minister, Francisco Javier García, said that during the first trimester of this year, they will announce new investments in excess of US $11.1 billion dollars,

Tourism Minister, Francisco Javier García, said that during the first trimester of this year, they will announce new investments in excess of US $11.1 billion dollars, a commitment without precedent for such a short period of time. This investment will consolidate tourism as the “engine” of economic development as well as being an augur of prosperous things to come in 2009.

The Minister said these projects involving Canadian, Spanish, French, Venezuelan and Dominican capital investments, demonstrate “that the DR has become a magnet for attracting important investments” which in turn adds to the country’s macroeconomic stability, jobs, and community development.

The mechanism established by the current program set up to gain maximum knowledge and approval for investments, has played a decisive role in all of this.

“The  idea,” said the Tourism Minister recently, “is to create a type of VIP mechanism for investors to allow them to more easily access the various areas of government making the bureaucratic processes more agile and easy. That way, when someone comes here, they’ll stay here.”

With the goal of consolidating these results, the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) will implement, among other important initiatives, an aggressive Territorial Organizing Plan in the tourism zone. This will imply various aspects of infrastructure such as paving streets and highways, cleaning up rivers and the recovery of critical areas while moving inhabitants to safe and dignified surroundings and living conditions.

As a  pilot project to get this plan off the ground,  the community of Las Terrenas in Samaná was chosen to be completely reformed in the coming months. This includes a total transformation of its infrastructure and quality of life for its inhabitants.

As part of the external plan, Tourism Minister García announced a 100% increase (from US$22 to US$44 million dollars) in public investment and promotion. This plan will include opening 9 Tourism Promotion Offices (OPT) in the United States in key cities such as Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Orlando, and at least one office in Russia.