Caribbean Tourism Seeks Closer Dominican Ties

PHOTO: Tourism stakeholders are seeking closer ties with the Dominican Republic, the most-visited Caribbean destination. (photo by Brian Major)

From hotel associations to government leaders across the region, Caribbean tourism stakeholders are strengthening ties with the region’s most-visited destination, the Dominican Republic.

The most recent instance came in late July when the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) announced an agreement with the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants in the Dominican Republic (ASONAHORES) to “share with CHTA and its members research on tourism’s broad economic impact and linkages to various industries and areas of economic activity in the country,” said CHTA officials in a statement.

The agreement also provides ASONAHORES—the Dominican Republic’s primary hospitality association—with access to reports CHTA partners—including STR, MasterCard, KPMG, ADARA, Travelzoo, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the American Resort Development Association, and the World Travel and Tourism Council.

CHTA will additionally assist ASONAHORES’ efforts to “strengthen [its] advocacy efforts with both the Dominican government and the business community” through in-country workshops and presentations intended to provide ASONAHORES members with “greater insight and tools useful for destination, organization and property planning.”

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CHTA will also engage the group in discussions with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the latter reviews extending the Caribbean Hotels Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Action (CHENACT) program to member hotels.

The two organizations will continue exploring other collaborative opportunities including “sustainable tourism, tourism investment promotion, regional tourism marketing, capacity building of local destination marketing organizations, regional air connectivity, cruise tourism and human resource development,” the statement added.

CHTA’s initiative follows a May visit to the Dominican Republic by Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s prime minister during which the counties inked a visa waiver agreement designed to facilitate diplomatic and official passport holders’ travel between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

Holness and Danilo Medina, the Dominican president, also discussed travel and tourism agreements including the creation of a “multi-destination tourism framework” during the upcoming months according to the Jamaica Information Service. In addition, Dominican Republic-based carrier Pawa will launch flights to Jamaica in late 2017.

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While several Caribbean destinations have recorded growing arrivals in the last several years, the Dominican Republic hosted 5.96 million land-based visitors during 2016, the most in the Caribbean and a record for the country said Radhames Martinez Aponte, the Dominican Republic’s vice minister of tourism.

His nation’s 6.7 percent arrivals growth in 2016 nearly doubled the 3.9 percent global rate reported for all destinations by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The growth came even as the country added an unprecedented number of new hotel rooms that year.

“During the year 5,500 hotel new rooms became available in the market,” said Martinez Aponte. “This is a record in the Dominican Republic’s history, yet even with that increase we were able to have an increase in the hotel occupancy rate.”