Joel Santos in charge of health tourism and the hospitality Industry panel
The President of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Dominican Republic, Asonahores, Joel Santos, is featured in a top-level panel focused on the actions that the hospitality industry can perform to create synergies on health and wellness tourism.
Santos is an economist and entrepreneur linked to the tourism sector for the last 19 years. At the congress he gathers around fellow Dominican panelists:
- Mr. Fausto Fernández, Deputy Minister of International Cooperation, Ministry of Tourism;
- Mr. Simón Suárez, Vice-President of Institutional Relations and Projects, Punta Cana Group;
- Mr. Mitchell Musa, President, Association of Receptive Tourism Operators;
- Mr. Roberto Henríquez, President, Hotel Association of Santo Domingo
The tourism experts will debate in “The Importance of Health and Wellness Tourism in the Hospitality Industry” panel, scheduled on September 7th, the thirds day of the event.
Santos is a hospitality industry veteran who once held the post of treasurer of Asonahores and has been part of its board of directors since 2012.
Before being named the president of the tourism entity, he served since 2007 as executive vice president and founding partner of the Coral Hospitality Corp Company, who dedicates to hotel management, hotel condominiums, and other tourism services under the Coral Hotels, Xeliter and International Vacation Club brands.
Hospitality Industry Support
Last April, Joel Santos appreciated the improvements that the Dominican Republic has made on the industry.
“We continue to improve health tourism and we now provide high-qualified services and hotel rooms equipped for such services,” stated Santos at the 19th Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE), in Barcelo Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana.
Santos was referring to Hodelpa Wellness Center, located in Santiago. According to the center’s website, they offer “rooms designed and furnished to combine the clinical facilities and the comfort of a hotel.”
As a strategic partner of the Dominican Health Tourism Association, one of his roles as President of Asonahores is to continue accommodating hotel rooms and support the special designs of the infrastructure to welcome medical travelers.
About Joel Santos
Prior to joining the tourism sector, he held various positions in the BHD Group for 10 years, standing out for five years as Vice President of Finance of Coral Hotels and Resorts, a hotel chain.
Previously, Santos worked in the banking sector with Citibank and graduated at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), Magna Cum Laude in economics.
He holds an MBA in International Business from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) in Arizona, which he obtained as a “Fullbright” fellow.
The tourism expert was a professor at the PUCMM for 10 years in economics and finance and was also a professor of the Post-Graduate Program in Corporate Finance.
He has held different positions in business organizations. He is currently president of the Dominican Employers Confederation (Copardom), vice president of the Board of Directors of the Stock Exchange of the Dominican Republic (BVRD).