Country responds to tourism challenge
WITH U.S. TOURISTS UP FROM 23% TO 45% OF ALL VISITORS AND CANADIAN AIR PASSENGERS SET TO DOUBLE THIS YEAR, THE DOMINICAN TOURIST INDUSTRY IS FINALLY LIVING UP TO ITS POTENTIAL

A little more than a year ago the Dominican Republic set out on an ambitious tourism plan to capture a larger share of the U.S. market after years of focusing on the European market with highly successful results. In the first seven months of 2001, the number of visitors from the United States as a percentage of all tourists increased from 23% to 45% and helped consolidate the country’s tourism sector as the most important source of earnings, bringing in more than $3 billion per year.
The September 11 terrorist attacks were followed by an avalanche of vacation cancellations that not only put the Dominican tourism sector at risk, but also the nation’s strong agriculture industry, since tourists consume some $300 million in Dominican agriculture products each year.
The government of president Hipolito Mejia has been quick to act. Working jointly with the public and private sector, the administration agreed upon an aggressive $25 million international campaign to recapture its share of the tourist market in the United States, Canada and Europe.

RAFAEL SUBERVI BONILLA Secretary of State for Tourism

Secretary of State for Tourism Rafael Subervi Bonilla sees the current situation as an opportunity to update the Dominican Republic’s image abroad. “The quality of the Dominican Republic’s tourist industry has improved greatly over the years,” he explains. “This country is much more than just beaches, sun and good food. We have an enormously rich culture to explore and our colonial cities are awash in history. We have the most important ecological areas of any country or island in the Caribbean. Our tourism infrastructure is modern. In La Romana, for example, we have just inaugurated the best marina in the Caribbean and there’s a mega project underway to build a marina in Punta Cana.”

One aspect that won’t need much selling is the Dominican Republic’s Caribbean climate. The country occupies the eastern portion of the second largest island of the West Indies, Hispaniola, which was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The year-round average temperature is 77ºF., or as Mr. Subervi puts it, “we have nine months of summer, and then three months of waiting around for winter, which never arrives.”
Secretary of Tourism Mr. Subervi, who held the same post between 1982-86 and is a former Interior Secretary and mayor of the capital city Santo Domingo, remains in constant contact with tour operators in the main international markets. Promotional campaigns in the United States and Canada have already begun to bear fruit, he notes. “Visitors from the United States began to pick up again in January. We already have contracts to receive 425,000 air passengers from Canada this year, while last year the figure was 240,000. What this means is that we are guaranteeing an increase this year.”

A British service-rating group recently gave the Dominican tourism industry its highest marks, ranking the sector’s infrastructure as one of the best in the region. Here vacationers will find all the best in water sports, as well as beautiful national parks, world-class cuisine, premium quality hotels with affordable prices, modern shopping facilities, rich colonial history and a varied nightlife.
An integrated approach to water, sanitation and solid waste management has increased the attractiveness of the Dominican Republic as a top Caribbean vacation spot. “The Dominican service infrastructure has been geared to meet the requirements of the North American market,” notes Mr. Subervi. “When you go to a hotel in Punta Cana, or Bavaro and Bayahibe, you will find the kind of hotels that meet those requirements and at a good price.”

Security is another major concern for the U.S. visitor, especially since the attacks in New York and Washington. And like other aspects of the all-important tourism industry, the government of President Mejia has been quick to respond to those concerns.
“As far as public safety is concerned, we have created a special tourist police force, which I am happy to say has not had to report any disagreeable incidents so far, and which has allowed us to offer greatly improved security services overall,” Mr. Subervi adds.