Taken from Listín Diario
On a historic day for Dominican tourism, due to its prominence at one of the most important tourism fairs in the world, the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, showcased the best side of the Dominican Republic, managing to capture the attention of all participants at the inauguration of the International Tourism Fair, Fitur 2022.
The president, during a dinner organized by Banco Popular Dominicano, stated that "We Dominicans have come to conquer the Spanish."
During this event, which was attended by business leaders and representatives from the Dominican and European tourism sectors, the president stated, “We have come to Spain, to the world’s largest tourism fair, to win you over. And I can find no better allies to achieve this than all of you and Banco Popular.”
The president highlighted that business leaders and the banking sector have demonstrated their commitment to excellence and rigor in difficult times, and even in challenging times have achieved healthy financial indicators and a sustained growth rate, benefiting their clients, employees, and shareholders, despite the challenging macroeconomic scenario resulting from the exceptional health situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Dominican government, through the Ministry of Tourism , signed separate agreements
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US$1.4 billion with the Polish tour operator Rainbow Tours and the Spanish airline Iberia and the German airline Euro Wings, for the development and sustained growth of tourism
President Abinader, along with the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, led the signing of the agreement as part of the activities scheduled within the framework of Fitur 2022.
The firstagreement signed with the airline Iberia seeks to carry out promotional actions for the Dominican Republic in Spain.
During the event, the Minister of Tourism stated that it is a clear sign that the commission and President Abinader are coming to this fair to sign agreements, which have an estimated total value of US$1.4 billion.
The second agreement was signed with the German airline, Euro Wings, which will guarantee two weekly flights to Puerto Plata, starting January 29th and continuing throughout 2022. Currently, it only operates daily flights to Punta Cana.
Minister Collado stated that this agreement is very important because the government has a special interest in strengthening Puerto Plata as a tourist destination.
An alliance was also formed with Rainbow Tours, which ensures three weekly flights from the three main cities of Poland to Puerto Plata.
Support from King Felipe VI
During the inauguration of Fitur, President Abinader expressed his delight that the Dominican Republic had stood out in this edition of FITUR, which marks the relaunch of global tourism after the pandemic, and where the country had a special role as it was dedicated to the nation.
Abinader expressed his gratitude to His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain for the treatment he received and for the time he dedicated to the Dominican stand, which he described as "a great endorsement of this great country of Spain, which, as you know, has a very, very special relationship with us."
President Abinader spoke with journalists prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony that formally inaugurated the activities of FITUR 2022, following the visit of the King and Queen to the Dominican stand and a tour of the fair.
“Everything we do here is to improve our economy and consequently the quality of life of Dominicans,” he said.
He expressed gratitude for the recognition he received from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as the country that best managed tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as another from the Madrid Chamber of Commerce.
Fitur 2022 includes hotel chains, commercial banks, and the active participation of the official delegation headed by President Luis Abinader.
Pepe Hidalgo: “Recovery is a reality.”
Spanish businessman Juan José “Pepe” Hidalgo, owner of the Globalia Group and Air Europa, affirmed that the recovery of Dominican tourism is a reality.
“We are already underway, and FITUR, the initial vehicle for promoting our return to what we once were, has been conceived as the starting point. And we will reach acceptable figures this year—not the figures we had before, but acceptable figures nonetheless,” the Spanish businessman explained to Listín Diario during the opening of Fitur.
