Dominican tourism dominance is based on diversity

For decades, the Dominican tourism industry has thrived on innovation. According to the Secretary of Tourism Felix Jimenez, the search for more diversity in its offerings, combined with an unprecedented $3 billion government investment in tourism infrastructure over the next three years will go a long way into solidifying the country’s top spot in the region.

With a 71,000 room inventory, the Dominican Republic already leads all other Caribbean destinations, but according to Jimenez, “it is the diversity of our offering that continues to drive up our arrivals, our occupancy rate, and most importantly, the entrance of more investors who are looking to build world-class, five star facilities for our guests.”

The country’s 50,000 miles of beaches alone have enamored tourists for decades, but new eco-tourism, sports tourism and marina projects are geared toward enticing more Americans.
In addition, newly-enacted tax incentives for the second-home market have opened the floodgates into luxury villas and timeshare developments for foreign n investors. Among the celebrities who have entered the market figure Julio Iglesias, Brad Pitt, Oscar de la Renta and pop singer Beyonce Knowles.

The tax incentives, brought about by the passage of Law 158 in 2004, give investors a 10-year exemption on property taxes while giving developers incentives on investment capital. This system has fueled an increase on large-scale luxury private villa developments such as Cap Cana, in Punta Cana and Roco Ki and Marbella in the southeastern city of Juan Dolio. As a result, developers and venture capitalists are investing money on equally large-scale, world class amenities, which have had a ripple effect on tourism from around the world.

In December 2006, the northern city of Puerto Plata saw the opening of “Ocean World,” a $175 million aquatic theme park, which includes contact experiences with dolphins and sharks. The park also contains a marina, casino and transshipment market designed as a “pit stop” of sorts for yachts and private boats cruising the Caribbean.

“The range of our offerings is getting more sophisticated and the government has made a commitment to investors by embarking on its biggest ever investment in infrastructure to make sure these facilities thrive,” Jimenez explained.

Upon re-election as President in 2004, President Leonel Fernandez tagged tourism as one of the pillars of his economic recovery plan. He has budgeted mega public works projects focusing on the needs of the tourism industry. Highways are being built to connect the Northeastern city of Samana, a budding eco-tourism haven in the summer because of its proximity to the breeding waters of the Northern Atlantic sperm whale.

Resort towns such as Puerto Plata are undergoing major transformations as new housing is being built to replace squatter towns and abandoned facilities.

“I truly think we finally got it right this time,” said Kuki Silverio, a developer and former Senator who is heading up the revamping of Puerto Plata. “The government is showing its commitment and is working with the private sector in order for these projects to be fast-tracked, something that never happened before.”

Jimenez is now focusing on attracting more U.S. arrivals by trying to convince U.S. air carriers to increase non-stops from U.S. destinations into Santo Domingo’s Las Americas International Airport and Santiago’s El Cibao International.

“We have already begun our transformation process and we feel confident that we’re heading in the right the direction,” Jimenez concluded.