EFE
The Dominican Republic is counting down the hours to present itself with new destinations and handicrafts as its main attractions at Fitur, the tourism fair that will be held in Madrid this week, which the Caribbean country arrives at after registering record visitor numbers in 2023.
The destinations to be promoted run the length of the country from north to south, from the northern Punta Bergantín to the southern Pedernales, passing through Miches, in the eastern Dominican Republic.
While Punta Bergantín is a project that initially envisions the construction of 700 hotel rooms and seeks to promote the renewed destination of Puerto Plata, a cruise port in Cabo Rojo in Pedernales has recently become operational, while Miches represents the growth of tourism in areas of the eastern Dominican Republic beyond Punta Cana or Bávaro.
Crafts will also play a prominent role this year at Fitur with the exhibition, display and promotion of this activity with jewelry, especially made of amber, larimar (stone from the Dominican Republic), horn, bone, coconut or natural fibers, as well as through sculpture.
Gastronomy will be present through tastings, especially of three great typical products (chocolate, liquor and rum), as well as traditional foods and drinks such as "mamajuana", a characteristic rum of the island, not forgetting the renowned Dominican cigar, rhythms such as bachata or merengue and folk dances.
The Dominican Republic, which will be represented at the fair by its Minister of Tourism, David Collado, will bring to Madrid an immersive experience about its tourism, which seeks to go beyond sun and beach and aims to establish itself as a destination for nature, health, adventure, culture or gastronomy.
The Caribbean nation, the second most visited Latin American destination after Mexico, arrives at Fitur this year after closing 2023 with record figures: 10.3 million visits, 21% more than in 2022, with 8,058,670 tourists arriving by air and 2,247,847 by cruise ship, according to the Ministry of Tourism. The main countries of origin for visitors were the United States (47%), Canada (16%), Colombia (5%), Argentina (3%), and Spain (3%).
