Executives from the Association of Industries and Companies of Boca Chica (Abocachica) explained that the multisectoral zone of this area has experienced significant growth, but for this evolution to continue exponentially, it is necessary for the municipality to recover its tourist hub, since this sector is an essential part for the industries and companies located there.
Bredyg Disla, president of the Board of Directors; Ana Luisa Andújar, executive director; Arlina Peña, first vice president and Luis José López, treasurer, agreed that recovering tourism in this area is key for the industrial sector.
“What Boca Chica needs most to achieve growth in tourism, and for this to have an impact on our industrial and business sector, is organization,” the executives stated, who also welcomed the plan announced in 2022 by the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) to recover the tourist area, but of which nothing has yet been done.
According to López, the decline in tourism was due to the fact that most of the hotels in the area had to close their operations decades ago, which allowed part of the area to be occupied without organization.
They said it is necessary to organize the entire area, because when tourists, they understand, see chaos and slum conditions in a destination, they do not return to visit it.
“The fact that tourism in Boca Chica is not properly organized allows for uncontrolled street vendors and people selling on the beach, and tourists often don't like being approached,” they added.
They believe the Ministry of Tourism's plan is in the study phase, as there are no physical works being carried out on the beach or in the area yet, but, they emphasize, they are aware that the project is part of the initiatives to be developed by the ministry.
“Currently, there is no organization of the spaces. There are restaurants already occupying the beach area, and the amount of sand on the beach has also degraded, limiting its use. Hence the need for an intervention project to restore the area, organize all the stakeholders, and develop the sector,” the leaders said.
López explained that implementing an organizational plan would encourage higher quality tourism, because with so much disorganization, many tourists look for low-cost options, so their spending is limited, which impacts the quality of the businesses there.
Disla believes that the Boca Chica area has a great opportunity for growth because it is close to the city and has stunning natural beauty.
He said that with a significant intervention in the tourism sector, the category of visitors would rise, and they would spend more money.
"It should become a much more cultural form of tourism, because there are many things to tell," he said.
When announcing the recovery plan two years ago, Tourism Minister David Collado said that Boca Chica will be a model of investment, renovation and organization of the beach through a project that they have already scheduled to begin at the end of the year, through public bidding.
At that time, Collado defined the Boca Chica tourist hub as "a symbol of chaos," although he pointed out that the government is taking steps to start a project that, together with the private sector, will turn the tourist hub into a "model.".
For the executives of the Association of Industries and Companies of Boca Chica, this municipality of Santo Domingo has long since gone from being a sun and sand beach area to being an important industrial hub, but one that needs tourism.
"It is necessary to implement a plan to address the disorganization that has led the tourist area to its current decline," they explained.
“In addition to having all the tourism, we also have the airport; logistics center; energy center; technology center…, perhaps the most complete hub that the Dominican Republic has at this time,” they assured.
They noted that until last year, investment by established companies exceeded US$1.7 billion, but that with the investment made by companies, it would be above US$2 billion.
