The Banco Popular Dominicano (BPD) celebrated this Wednesday night its traditional meeting with tourism entrepreneurs, investors and government authorities present at the international tourism fair FITUR 2022, with a gala dinner held in the spectacular Crystal Gallery of the Palacio de Cibeles .
The evening was attended by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, and the guests lived a multisensory experience with audiovisual resources, lighting, music and live dance, by the group of dancers from the group #EconomíaNaranja, and high gastronomy with Creole influences, which highlight the benefits of the Dominican Republic, as a partner country in this edition of the tourism fair.
Those attending the dinner shared cordially and participated in a congratulatory toast to the country and the good health of Dominican tourism.
Commitment to the development of tourism
In the main speech of the meeting, Mr. Christopher Paniagua, executive president of Banco Popular, referred to this commitment of the organization to promote the orange economy due to its connection with tourism and reaffirmed the commitment that the financial institution has maintained for decades with the development of the tourism industry, a source of sustainable growth in the Dominican Republic.
“Thanks to tourism, the world knows our biodiversity and the beauty of our landscapes; the quality of our hotel facilities; the courtesy and disposition of our people; our high capacity to work together in favor of the same purpose, which is the economic, social and institutional development of the Dominican Republic”, stated the executive president of Popular.
Similarly, he praised the initiatives of the Government and highlighted the incessant effort of entrepreneurs in the tourism sector in favor of the reactivation and good management of Dominican tourism, which has become an international example.
Popular has always been the largest financier of the tourism industry in the country, with 45% of all loans granted by the national bank to the sector, representing a portfolio of more than RD$59,000 million at the end of 2021.
Message from President Luis Abinader and Minister Collado
For his part, the President of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Luis Abinader, thanked Banco Popular for its support for the government’s initiatives to recover the economy and for leading the digital transformation in the financial sector, as well as for stimulating the growth of the economy. orange, as it highlights the creativity and entrepreneurship of the Dominican people.
“The part of success, and especially of our nation, bears the seal of work, and this seal is held by Banco Popular. You and we are an unstoppable alliance together with all businessmen, together with all sectors of the Dominican Republic”, stressed the President of the Republic.
Meanwhile, in his words, the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, highlighted the strategies deployed by the Government to seek the recovery of tourism, working together with the private sector with optimism and resilience.
Minister Collado thanked Banco Popular for its support in this process and for being one of the sponsors of the Dominican Republic at the FITUR 2022 fair.
Dominican music and crafts
During the course of the event, they enjoyed the presentation by the group RetroJazz, led by the Dominican musician Pengbian Sang. Together with the members of the group, Guy Frómeta, Federico Méndez, Edgar Molina, Jesús Abreu, Álvaro Dinzey and the voice of Nairoby Duarte, they performed very popular pieces such as “Papá Bocó”, “Confundido”, “La Ventanita”, “Arroyito Cristalino “, “Where and’ that and’”, “I hope it rains coffee” and “I need you”, among others.
In addition, as a gift for their presence, the Popular gave each of the guests a handcrafted gift that expresses the identity of the Dominican people: spoons made of centuries-old guayacán wood, made by artisan families from the communities of Juan Dolio and Boca Chica and decorated with the colorful fish of the artist Patricio Correa, whose elaboration was made from wood collected on the beaches of the Dominican Republic, coconut palm fibers and other recycled materials, which demonstrates a passionate process of creative and sustainable transformation.
orange economy
Attendees also enjoyed the various forms of Creole talent with the exhibition of the video “RD is LIFE”, where various voices from the country’s cultural and creative industries appeal to the potential of Dominican creativity and how it is directly linked to tourism, as a platform for attracting foreign visitors who want to live experiences in their countries of origin.
Precisely, the orange economy or economy of creativity is the central theme of the most recent editorial and multimedia proposal of Banco Popular Dominicano, “Dominicana Creativa. Talent in the orange economy”, where national ingenuity is praised in the film, cultural management, crafts, fashion, design, advertising, gastronomy, architecture, audiovisual industry or software creation industries, among other creative manifestations. This publication is accompanied by the web www.dominicanacreativa.com, with the presence of more than 60 professionals who have participated, in one way or another, in the project.
Among those attending this gala dinner, the presence of Messrs. Rosa Hernández de Grullón, ambassador of the Dominican Republic in France; the ambassador to Spain, Juan Bolívar Díaz, and his wife, Ada Wiscovitch de Díaz; the secretary general of the World Organization
World Tourism, Zurab Pololikashvili and the Dominican ambassador to this organization, Aníbal de Castro, as well as presidents and main executives of important hotel chains and businessmen linked to tourism in the Dominican Republic.
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