SANTO DOMINGO.- President Luis Abinader enacted three laws yesterday, Tuesday, for the development of ecotourism in the provinces of Hato Mayor, El Seibo, and Duarte, including the provision that El Seibo be declared a tourist hub.
"Law number 10-23 designates the province of El Seibo as a tourist destination, in addition to its previous declaration as an ecotourism province under Law number 511-05, of November 22, 2005," according to a press release from the Presidency.
The laws provide important rules and incentives for the promotion of ecotourism in the aforementioned provinces.
The case of Law number 8-23, declares the Duarte province as ecotourism, with the objective of ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and the promotion of cultural manifestations for the benefit of the economic and social development of its communities.
For such purposes, the law establishes an Ecotourism Development Council for Duarte Province and an executive director.
“The first will be the governing body for the promotion and regulation of ecotourism activities in the province, and the second will be responsible for implementing such policies. The law creates a provincial fund for ecotourism development and orders that an allocation of 60 million pesos annually be reserved in the General State Budget for the two years following its enactment,” says one of the recitals of the law.
While Law No. 9-23 modifies Law No. 77-02, of July 19, 2002, and establishes the province of Hato Mayor as an ecotourism province, with the purpose of adapting the integration and functionality of its governing and executing bodies, explains a press release from the Presidency.
It also orders that an allocation of 20 million pesos annually be set aside in the General State Budget for compliance with the provisions of the aforementioned law.
In this way, the incentives contemplated in Law number 158-01, of October 9, 2001, on the promotion of tourism development, must be applied.
“In recent decades, ecotourism has experienced a significant boom due to the adaptation of societies to new forms of tourism, sustainability and environmental development,” the Presidency highlighted in its press release.
