The president of the board of directors of Cap Cana, Fernando Hazoury, together with the Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic David Collado and the businessmen Chris Schroeder and Mark Korros, officially announced the start of operations of the first Sports Illustrated Resort Marina & Villas Cap Cana developed in the world, in a brief meeting held at the Palacio de Santa Bárbara, in Madrid, Spain.
Investors indicated that after having evaluated multiple locations, the Dominican Republic and Cap Cana is the ideal place for the launch of this iconic brand.
Hazoury, said that the digital experience of Sport Illustrated Resort and the media power of its Sports Illustrated magazine, an icon in North American sports culture for more than 65 years, has shaped the narrative around sports and in only one of its Annual editions reach some 70 million consumers a year, being the cover of the indicated magazine the most coveted asset in sports media and one of the most recognizable honors in American culture, which is the largest issuer of tourists to the Dominican Republic, so it will benefit the country appreciably.
He highlighted that today Cap Cana has more than 3,400 hotel rooms with a view to multiplying them exponentially in the next two decades, thus contributing to the generation of more jobs, economic growth, adding recognized luxury brands that help position the country in the world hotel market, to attract tourists with greater purchasing power and to build in the Dominican Republic the most luxurious and diverse hotel destination in the entire Caribbean.
He urged the country to continue with the current favorable climate for national and international private investment, guaranteeing legal certainty, transparency and speed of investment processes, giving priority to 100% of those that come from the private sector that generate more wealth. , being aware that tourism is the backbone of the Dominican economy. “Our oil” he concluded.
On his side Chris Schroeder, the CEO of Sports Illustrated Resorts expressed: “Cap Cana was the place chosen for being one of the most unique developments related to sports, and the active lifestyle in the world, with world-class golf courses , equestrian center, fishing and boating; in addition to eco-adventure activities such as Scape Park, which offers zip lines and quadricycles, as well as the new Sports City that offers a first-class Mountain bike circuit, sports fields and racket sports such as tennis”.
He indicated that Cap Cana has been a great ally working closely together, and said that this has only been the beginning, as they work to expand other more investments and developments in the Destination City and the Dominican country.
While Michael Sherman, executive vice president of strategy, business and tactical operations at Authentic Brand Groups (ABG), owner of Sports Illustrated, added that the Dominican Republic and Cap Cana are the ideal places to launch the iconic brand’s resort because it is a community irreplaceable master plan, with which they hope to strengthen their presence in a high-level destination.
“We look forward to being a key and strong promotional partner of the Dominican Republic and Cap Cana for many years to come,” he concluded.
The Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, David Collado, said he was excited to start the day of FITUR by welcoming a prestigious brand such as Sport illustrated to the Dominican Republic, where he highlighted the great potential of Cap Cana due to the size of the project and took the opportunity to congratulate the Hazoury family for having the vision to undertake this unprecedented real estate tourism development, and SI investors for this alliance that represents good luck and hope for Dominican tourism.
He stressed that 2022 was a historic year which ended with more than 8.5 million foreigners by air and sea, and said that January 2023 points to projections of being the best month of January in the history of tourism in the Dominican Republic, highlighting that this is demonstrated with the recognitions that the country has received from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the World Tourism Organization and the WTTC.
Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is the owner of Sports Illustrated, and is a leader in the management of iconic brands with an annual turnover of 14 billion dollars, and more than 6,000 stores present in 150 countries.
Sports Illustrated (YEAH) is an icon of North American sports culture, and was selected by ABG to enter the hospitality industry worldwide. All the reach it has will be used by Sport Illustrated to promote Sport Illustrated Hotels & Resorts, directly benefiting Cap Cana and the Dominican Republic.
The announcement was made in the presence of the main executives of the Cap Cana Destination City, Dominican authorities, businessmen, relatives, friends and members of the press, during a cocktail party held at the Palacio de Santa Bárbara in Madrid, Spain within the framework of the celebration of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur 2023).