Dominican Republic plans to attract between 60,000 and 100,000 tourists in July

The executive vice president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), Andrés Marranzini, indicated that with the approval of the operating protocol for the tourism sector, the country would receive between 60,000 and 100,000 tourists by July.

Marranzini maintained that the entrance of tourists does not represent a difference from the point of view of the risk of contagion of the coronavirus COVID-19.

"All scientists indicate that once there is community transmission, the risk is exactly the same. In other words, it does not present a difference for the Dominican Republic from the point of view of risk, ”he pointed out when participating in the webinar“ After COVID-19: recovering exports and generating foreign exchange, ”organized by the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC) and the Dominican Observatory of International Trade (ODCI).

However, the Asonahores executive clarified that for this to happen everything has to evolve in a positive way and the messages outside the country have to be coordinated. In addition, on the international framework, he said that the sector will need a little more help, and it is very likely that it will not be 100% operational capacity beyond 2020.

He stressed that the estimated time for recovery is between 13 and 18 months, "we would have to pass 2021 to recover numbers close to 2018, which were our last best historical numbers," he stressed.

In the virtual meeting, which was moderated by the economist Pavel Isa, research professor at INTEC and director of the ODCI, José Manuel Torres, Executive Vice President of the Dominican Association of Free Zones (Adozona), highlighted that until May 2020, exports from areas francs fell 28.76%, however, the figures reflect recovery when compared with the drop of the previous month that was 39.45%.