Hoteliers assure that government measures to counter COVID-19 helps tourism
The National Association of Hotels and Tourism (ASONAHORES) supported the measures that the Dominican Republic government recently implemented regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and said that these have a positive impact on the control of the disease and thus favor tourism.
In an official statement sent by the entity, the president of ASONAHORES, Rafael Blanco Tejera, said that the recovery of tourism is progressing, as evidenced by the data that in May almost 400 thousand non-resident tourists arrived in the country, the largest number of tourists since March 2020.
In addition, he indicated that the measures that the authorities implemented, combined with the vaccination plan that carries around 5 million doses of inoculated vaccines, provide guarantees to visitors that the Dominican Republic is a safe country to visit.
“With the protocols that hotels are carrying out and the monitoring of MITUR in our sector, a kind of bubble has been created in tourist spaces, and the tests indicate that the rate of positivity of outgoing visitors from the country is almost zero, we must continue with this policy and from ASONAHORES we are constantly monitoring all our partners so that we continue in that line”, said the hotelier leader.
He added that “we are convinced that this is how we will move forward, and in fact, we are the example for the countries of the region to follow”, declared Blanco Tejera.
ASONAHORES stated that in tourist areas the positivity rates are very low and the incidence of COVID-19 is lower than in the rest of the country, which shows the commitment of those cities that depend on tourism with the recovery, which has allowed the opening of 70% of hotel rooms and with it the recovery of employment, consumption, hotel purchases, and economic activity.
In addition, they assured that the recently issued measures are correct, which mitigate specific risks and reduce internal crowds, especially in public places where it is difficult to apply protocol issues.
Blanco Tejera said that they take care of the health of the Dominican people, the country brand, keep the tourist areas active and open, and guarantee employment to the population that has been most affected in the pandemic.