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BiggerDominican Republic showcases tourism strength at Asonahores 2025 Trade Show
Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores) inaugurated its 37th Trade Show, the country’s most influential tourism industry event, reaffirming the sector as the backbone of the national economy and a strategic pillar of development.
Tourism Minister David Collado emphasized that the fair showcases the strength and vision of Dominican tourism, which unites the entire value chain. He stressed the need for continued innovation, diversification, and sustainability to maintain the country’s leadership as the Caribbean’s top destination.
Asonahores president Juan Bancalari underscored tourism’s broad economic impact, linking agriculture, industry, technology, construction, logistics, and services. In 2022, the hotel industry generated more than RD$139 billion in the local market, while tourism contributed over RD$155 billion to public finances—one in every 10 pesos of tax revenue. He also highlighted record foreign investment in 2023 and 2024, largely driven by tourism, and strong hotel occupancy rates as evidence of investor and visitor confidence.
The 2025 Trade Show, the largest indoor fair in the Caribbean with more than 300 stands and 140 exhibitors, features an expanded academic agenda with panels on sustainability, labor practices, and land use planning.
he dollar is going to get to 100 pesos, soon.
There are few reasons for the increase:
1)Neglect of the Small Business of the diaspora that are very disappointed thus leaving and/or stopping the investments due to the increase in regulations/red-tapes and business nonsense of the government.
2) Small businesses represent between 60 to 70 percent of the economy and the long process to comply with regulations makes it hard to do business
3) Interest rates 300 (three hundred percent higher than USA or Europe)
4) Banking system does not allow for long term savings ( will close the savings account if you do not deposit constantly or withdraw every certain # of time)
5) Lack of training of the government workers making business next to impossible/
6) Financial transactions with the government requires long lines to purchase checks at the banco de reservas, then back to pay the government etc/Backward and inept workers.
7) The business with the government has improved in the past 40 years but it has been painfully slow
8) Small and Mid size investors are moving to safer and better places to invest
9) Dinosaurs are still in charge of the government entities .
10) True there are a lot of foreign investment coming in but it is not the small and mid size investor who represent the majority and the kind that make countries more stable
11) True there is an increase in tourism but the majority does not return…….(Same issues of the past that never get corrected)