The president of the Punta Cana Group, Frank Rainieri proposed the tourism leadership unit of the Caribbean region, to act with one voice in the face of common problems, to promote a public-private partnership to push governments to a tourism summit.
He raised the need to create a regional airline that serves as an air bridgeand the elimination of visas for tourists who move from one island to another in the Caribbean.
This was stated by the renowned businessman in the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Sustainability and Investment Summitwhere he spoke about the good practices carried out by the group that has chaired the preservation of coral reefs for 20 years, and the importance of people getting involved as a main asset.
“That is what makes us different, it is the human being, the participation of the people, getting them involved, establishing a link”, with that example he urged to keep families together in the cities around the resorts, retain the talent, since the labor force is being lost and is going to other places.
Regarding his proposal for an alliance in the region’s tourism sector, he said that it should be driven by businessmen.
“We have to have a consistent policy, but it has to be the product of a public-private partnership in which business leadership and political leadership come together. Tell me, when has the political leadership of the Caribbean met to discuss what is most important in the Caribbean economy? They never meet to discuss other things that are political… but there has been no leadership for tourism. We need that.”
Rainieri, who is the WTTC environment ambassador, stressed that there should be no rivalry in tourism in the regionthat these types of meetings, such as the WTTC summit and the one it promotes with the governments of the region, serve to strengthen the industry and keep it growing.
“We have to have good practices and create international awareness that the Caribbean destination is safe, that it respects the environment, with social responsibility and where our visitors are welcome everywhere. but noor we can have a destination where you need seven different visas to visit and you go to Europe, which is 30 times bigger than us and has 20 times more population, and you go through nine countries and you don’t need a visa. They do not charge you the fees that all governments charge. Every time you enter a country (in the Caribbean), in each one you have 60 and 80 dollars of taxes and that makes it uneconomical”, explained Rainieri.
airlift
The president of the Punta Cana Group pointed out that the Caribbean lacks an “air bridge”which are direct flights between the islands.
“It is a shame that a person from any Caribbean island has to fly to Miami and from there to Punta Cana, being less than an hour’s flight from those destinations. There are many things that we have to overcome, but if the Europeans were able to unite after two great wars, they formed a common market and united, because we cannot do it in the Caribbean."sentenced the businessman at the Summit.
Sustainability
He understands that the countries of the region have issues that concern each one differently, but those that have a coincidence must work together to find a solution, such as plastic in the ocean and sargassum, which all the islands are suffering and are dealing with. individually.
In the sargassum, which covers the coasts, the Punta Cana group and its foundation have spent millions of dollars and in Mexico as well.
tourism has changedAt the summit whose axis is to center the commitment of the sector to preserve the planetits biodiversity and reduce climate change, with the presence of an industry representative from more than 20 countries, Rainieri showed the example of what is happening in Punta Cana with the pandemic, that visitors are more interested in contact with nature.
Also another area of tourism is not only hotelsbut visitors have realized that they want a second home to go to in the event of a crisis such as the pandemic.
“They are seeing tourism not only as a vacation, but as a way of life, there has been a change after the pandemic,” Rainieri said.