As the guest of honor country, the Dominican Republic is committed to promoting its tourist diversity at an ecological, sports, gastronomic and cultural level in the 42nd edition of the Tourist Showcase of the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Anato) that began this Wednesday in Bogotá.
"The strategy has two parts: playing to diversity and continuing to strengthen our strength that is Punta Cana, but also being a safe, inclusive destination with sustainable tourism."explained to EFE the Dominican Minister of Tourism, David Collado.
At this fair, which will last until next Friday, More than 30 countries and some 1,000 exhibitors and co-exhibitors from the 32 departments of Colombia belonging to the tourism sector come together.
Among the participants is also the one from the State of Yucatán (Mexico) with a bet of "great historical wealth" full of flavors, colors and memories that invite connect with the Mayan culture and its archaeological sitesaccording to what his deputy minister of tourism promotion, Miguel Andrés Hernández, told EFE.
As a star destination, the Dominican Republic presents in Anato his "second capital": Santiago de los Caballeros, a place to live the carnival, drink rum or smoke a typical Dominican cigar.
Convinced that, beyond the sun and beach tourism that each year attracts more than two million American tourists, the Dominican minister assures that, among the strategies of his portfolio, there is also the search for incentives to increase internal flights that travelers know other points of their country.
This is why, according to Collado, "in this days" Dominican President Luis Abinader will issue a decree for "facilitate, encourage and stimulate" this type of displacement.
INCLUSION AND HEALTH
The need to guarantee that the hotel offer is fully accessible for people with disabilities was another of the priorities that Collado pointed out as key points in his portfolio. To achieve this, according to the minister, recently Hotels were given a period of four months to guarantee accessibility to their facilities.
In the same way, the senior official claimed his country as a destination for health tourism worldwide, given its quality in terms of surgeries or cancer treatments.
A "SURPRISE" OF THE COLOMBIAN MARKET
Despite the fact that the United States and Canada remain leaders in the issuance of tourists to the Dominican Republic, Collado pointed to Colombia as a market "important" which, even last year, exceeded 257,000 travelers to countries such as Spain, France, Germany or England, which occupied the "top five".
"It has been a nice surprise for our country"assured the minister at a press conference after signing five letters of intent for cooperation agreements with the airlines Wingo and Copa Airlines and with tour operators such as the Colombian Cielos Abiertos.
The fair was inaugurated this Wednesday by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, who defended the tourism sector as an alternative to obtain the foreign currency that the country would stop receiving if it moved towards "decarbonized economy" on which its energy transition strategy is based.
