SANTO DOMINGO. – The La Romana-Bayahibe Tourist Hub, which currently has some 6,000 hotel rooms distributed along a coastal strip encompassing the provinces of San Pedro de Macorís, La Romana and La Altagracia, projects a growth of between 10% and 15% annually during the next three years, driven by new land with beach access that is being added to the destination's inventory.
This was announced by Andrés Fernández, president of the La Romana-Bayahibe Hotel Association (AHRB), during the presentation of the organization's 2026 strategic agenda to tourism journalists.
Fernández clarified that when referring to the "La Romana destination" we mean the Romana-Bayahibe Tourist Hub as a whole: the coastal-marine strip that runs between the Soco River and the Yuma River.
"We are very hopeful about the future because we believe we have all the elements to grow, especially with sustainability and by ensuring that the value that tourism brings benefits the communities," the executive stated.
For Fernández, that is precisely the criterion that defines whether growth is legitimate or not: "If the people and communities that are in the destination do not benefit, that growth would be unfair.".
The AHRB's 2026 strategic plan is structured around five pillars: consolidating the destination as a reliable and safe benchmark, diversification through sports tourism, environmental planning and resilience, development of local talent, and promotion focused on short and medium distance markets, with the United States as the main source market.
The challenge of education
Regarding human talent, Fernández identified one of the sector's biggest challenges: the Dominican tourism industry is growing at a rate that exceeds the current capacity to train professionals.
For the past eight years, the AHRB has operated the program “Training the leaders of the future of tourism”, through which the destination's hotels sponsor and finance the studies of meritorious students from La Romana.
The priority areas are tourism and hotel activities, with special emphasis on food and beverages, a segment that, according to Fernández, has become a key differentiating factor now that beaches and quality rooms no longer distinguish one hotel from another.
Regarding the geopolitical context, Fernández ruled out that the conflict in the Middle East has affected arrivals to the destination so far, but warned that if the situation continues it could increase the cost of tourist packages, especially long-distance ones.
In that context, he praised the Ministry of Tourism's strategy of strengthening promotion in short and medium distance markets such as the United States, Canada, Central America and Latin America as "very successful".
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