Barahona’s Potential as a Tourist Destination is Emphasized

Barahona’s Potential as a Tourist Destination is Emphasized
Barahona, August 5, 2015

The province of Barahona is a destination with huge potential for tourism development, and together with Pedernales and the other Western provinces, is called upon to represent one of the most complete tourist offerings in the Caribbean, according to Journalist Luis José Chávez, President of the Dominican Association of Tourist Media (ADOMPRETUR).

Chávez pointed out that Barahona has an interesting collection of small hotels, including some that are world renowned, and an extraordinary diversity of natural resources and major infrastructure projects, including an international airport, an ideal port for cruise ships and tourists, and a new boardwalk that has already become one of the city’s main attractions.

During his lecture on “Tourism and Communication,” which took place as part of a workshop organized by ADOMPRETUR Barahona, Chávez urged the province’s journalists to identify and promote the tourist attractions that the region has to offer, in order to attract domestic and foreign tourists and to stimulate the investment that the destination needs.

“The Barahona province’s major challenge ahead in the current context is to promote social and institutional connections that effectively involve all stakeholders in the tourism industry and the community, in an effort to build a competitive tourist destination that is economically and environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive, and one where human capital is the most important asset.

“The most important component of the tourism industry, contrary to what many may think, is not the natural resources or the airports or the hotels, not even the roads or the major infrastructure works, but the human capital, the people’s culture and the quality of services the visitors receive,” noted the President of ADOPRETUR.

He also argued that economic growth in the tourism sector is fundamentally determined by the development of its human resources.

“I invite you to highlight and promote all the positive things that this wonderful region has to offer, but, whenever it becomes necessary and helpful, to also lay a finger on the sore spots to draw the attention of those responsible for tackling the problems affecting the tourism industry and that of the entire community,” said Chávez.

The workshop for Barahona communicators was organized by a subsidiary of ADOMPRETUR, headed by Journalist Marcos Cadet. Tony Arias Gil, who addressed the issue of journalistic ethics, also attended the event, as well as José Rafael Sosa, who offered a course on writing techniques and the use of social media.

The national Vice President of ADOMPRETUR, Karina López, was in charge of coordinating the event.