Institution took commitment to sustainable tourism in the Dominican Republic

A total of 141 representatives of the tourism clusters across the country, as well as government officials and the private sector pledged to develop a work plan that will be used by the Dominican Republic boost sustainable tourism.

The public and private entities that participated in the meeting agreed to establish a plan for 100 days and one more extensive in 1000, as a way to draw concrete actions that will enable the country as part of nations that protect their natural resources as well as develop the tourism industry, reported a press release from the National Council of Competitiveness.

The information provided from Lissette Gil, project coordinator of Alianza Dominicana for Sustainable Tourism (DSTA), which runs the funds from the United States Agency for Development and the local counterpart.

"The working agenda that we set includes an insert it into a series of pillars at the same time constitute the basic lines of action to promote sustainable tourism. These are the pillars investment, education, political and legal framework, strategy and products national tourism sector plan and sustainability, "said Gil. The National Competitiveness Council will assume this role on the understanding that the national tourism industry has a great future if it ensures its sustainability and diversification as a way to respond to international trends of a travel industry more friendly to the environment and society.

The meeting was attended by the cluster of Samana, Puerto Plata, La Altagracia, La Romana, Bayahibe, Santo Domingo, Pedernales, Barahona, Constanza, Jarabacoa, as well as emerging tourism initiatives and private sector representatives of these provinces.

The State was represented by the Ministry of Tourism, with the participation of three assistant secretaries of the portfolio, as well as by the National Council of Competitiveness. As part of his lecture, the Italian economist Irene Mia of the World Economic Forum revealed that the Dominican Republic ranks first in the world in the amount of resources that the government invests into the tourism sector. The expert noted that according to international competitiveness index Travel Forum of the Dominican government "uses more than 20 percent of government spending on everything that has to do with tourism, which puts the nation over its competitors in the region."

Marion Rodgers, National Geographic, spoke about the concept and a principle of tourism, for which, according to the expert, it is vital that involved the community, and it is the main beneficiary of tourism. Therefore, people will be more proud of where they live and take better care of the place. Some of the principles recommended by Rodgers are to make tourists go to the place where the community is manifested as this adds value to the stories that saves the traveler.

Cesar Castaneda said that although the Dominican Republic takes no agenda to implement the system for measuring destination developed by the institution he represents, aspires to a destination so important in the Caribbean, take the measurement system for excellence, to be an example for other destinations in the world.

The country economist Miguel Ceara Hatton calls for reflection on what action to be taken immediately for the environment because with drought, deforestation, damage to beaches, the future of tourism is not promising.

With the understanding that "not everything growth generates welfare", Ceara Hatton reveals that in the present we are eating natural capital of the Dominican Republic, its heritage and its ecological footprint. For him, it was not enough to grow, it can grow and increase revenues, foreign exchange, tourism and flow of rooms, but all this can happen without impoverishing the population, destroy and degrade the ecological capital. Click here for more information