The Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), reported yesterday that the country will reach investments of approximately US$1,000 million in projects in this sector by the end of this year, on the occasion of the fifth “Tourism Investment Forum”.

The president of Asonahores, Rafael Blanco Tejera, highlighted that the sector generates more than 570,000 direct and indirect jobs.

In this context, he indicated that 2022 will end with more than US$8.400 million in income and with a weight of foreign investment in tourism that represents more than 30% of the total that enters the country and a total impact on 16% of the Gross Domestic Product ( GDP).

“And this success that we have achieved as a country, has been due to the fact that there is a clear public-private policy to support the tourism sector and that has led us to create an ecosystem that works, based on 6 fundamental pillars: Policy to Promote the investment; fiscal stability with clear long-term policies; employment stability; touristic infrastructure; an aggressive air connectivity policy, and finally, the great public-private alliance that we have managed to forge, which has guaranteed to structure a unified strategy to promote the sector.”, Tejera explained, in a hotel in the National District.

Central Bank governor

During the forum, the governor of the Central Bank, Héctor Valdez Albizu, was recognized for his great contributions to the tourism sector.

“I humbly receive this distinction not only on my behalf, but also on behalf of the entire team of officials and technicians of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic who accompany me on a day-to-day basis to fulfill the crucial mission with a great sense of responsibility and commitment. to ensure price stability and guarantee the regulation of the financial system, as well as promote the efficiency and security of payment systems, acting as executor of monetary, exchange rate and financial policies, to contribute to the stability and growth of the national economy,” said Valdez Albizu.

Likewise, it reaffirmed the commitment to conduct monetary policy towards the achievement of its inflation target, by contributing to the development of economic activity and maintaining an environment of certainty, which is essential for the adequate flow of local and foreign investments, combined with a climate of social peace, legal security and clear and transparent rules.

The official stressed that tourism corresponds to the “backbone” of the Dominican economy due to its communicating vessels with all other economic sectors.

In this context, he took the opportunity to emphasize that during 2022, the hotels, bars and restaurants activity has been the one with the greatest contribution to the growth of the Dominican economy, explaining approximately a third of the accumulated growth of 5.4% in the first nine months. of the year.

In terms of real added value, the sector registered an expansion of 28.9% in January-September 2022, while tourism revenues reached an amount of US$6,341.9 million, for a relative variation of 65.7% compared to the same period in 2021.