Venture 2014: Successful Promotional Platform for Dominican Sustainable Tourism

Venture 2014: Successful Promotional Platform for Dominican Sustainable Tourism
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 04/08/2014

As a way to promote alternative, nature, and adventure tourism in the Dominican Republic, the sustainable tourism fair “Venture 2014” (Aventúrate 2014) was held, for the second consecutive year, last weekend at the Ágora Mall.

This promotion platform is organized by the Dominican Consortium for Tourism Competiveness (CDTC), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The objective is for small tourism businesses like eco-lodges, boutique hotels, campgrounds, hiking trails, and adventure tours, to promote their services and present their proposals to the local market.

Several of the ten clusters grouped in the CDCT participated in the event, including Puerto Plata, represented by its Executive Director, Jakaira Cid, who made ??a presentation to invite the participants to get to know the new offer and the traditional attractions of this destination, as well as the projects that have been undertaken to ensure the sustainability of the tourism sector in the province.

In addition, forty tourism businesses from across the country presented exhibitions and forty-five artisans showcased their products to more than six thousand people gathered at the event on Saturday and Sunday.

The opening ceremony was led by Jim Wright (Deputy Director of USAID in the country), Máximo Iglesias (President of the CDCT), Luis Omar Fernández (Executive Director), and Fausto Fernández (Deputy Minister of Tourism) among other personalities.

The President of the CDCT, Máximo Iglesias, addressing those present said that Venture showcases the work that has been done by the CDCT and the Tourist Clusters for more than a decade to strengthen the attractions of the Dominican Republic, which is working.

The also President of the Tourism Cluster of the Puerto Plata Destination, explained that “most of the exhibitors at Venture 2014 are members of Clusters of our Dominican Treasures program. This is a source of great pride and satisfaction for us. As the CDCT, we will continue motivating each of the clusters and their destinations to identify their uniqueness”.

“We will continue to promote the creation of companies that share the aforementioned values ??of sustainability. Above all, we will continue to support these companies who have joined us in Venture 2014, as their projects are a testament to what makes us unique and we must also show that to the tourists who visit us” said Iglesias.