For tourism entrepreneurs, territorial diversification is key to maintaining the country's leadership in the Caribbean and attracting new European markets.
SANTO DOMINGO. – The Dominican Republic will place Pedernales at the center of its international promotion strategy during its participation in the International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2026), which will be held at IFEMA Madrid from January 21 to 25, and which has Mexico as its guest country.
The Dominican delegation, headed by President Luis Abinader and Minister of Tourism David Collado, plans to showcase the progress of the Cabo Rojo project and the promise of tourism that combines investment with environmental sustainability.
President Abinader has reiterated that Pedernales is "the most important tourism project of the coming decades," emphasizing that its development seeks to balance the development of hotel infrastructure with the preservation of protected areas such as Bahía de las Águilas.
At FITUR, this narrative will be presented as an example of how the Dominican Republic is diversifying its offerings beyond the traditional sun and beach destinations, such as Punta Cana and Puerto Plata.
The plan includes the construction of thousands of hotel rooms, an international airport and access roads, with the promise of generating employment and boosting the economy of the border region.
FITUR as a showcase
At the last edition, FITUR 2025, the Dominican Republic closed deals worth more than US$6.75 billion, announced the construction of 7,400 new hotel rooms and received the award for best stand at the fair.
These results contributed to the country's position as a regional leader and opened the door for Pedernales to become the next major destination to attract investment.
The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, has emphasized that “FITUR is the ideal platform to show the world that the Dominican Republic is not just sun and beach, but also sustainability, inclusion and new tourist territories.”.
By the end of 2025, the Dominican Republic boasted nearly 100,000 hotel rooms. The tourism sector exceeded the projection announced at FITUR 2025 by more than 150%, concluding the year with 18,816 new accommodations distributed across 111 hotels, in addition to 58 projects in development that will add another 9,364 rooms.
For its part, the Dominican Republic Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores) has indicated that territorial diversification is key to maintaining the country's leadership in the Caribbean and attracting new European markets.
At FITUR 2026, the country will reaffirm that tourism is an engine of development and that international promotion can also be a tool for territorial cohesion. Pedernales is presented as a symbol of this new stage: a destination that seeks to balance investment, sustainability, and opportunities for local communities.
