How sports tourism is becoming a key development strategy in the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic has taken a significant step toward strengthening sports tourism as a development strategy with the official launch of the Dominican Association of Sports Tourism (Adoturd). The presentation took place during the Global Sports Tourism Hub Forum, in coordination with the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores).

Adoturd was introduced as a public-private partnership platform designed to organize, promote and position sports tourism as a national strategy to diversify the tourism offering, extend visitor stays, generate employment and enhance the country’s international brand. Founding president Yerik Pérez outlined an ambitious agenda of sporting events planned for 2026, along with a roadmap focused on investment attraction, economic growth and global projection. Asonahores executive vice president Aguie Lendor emphasized sports tourism as a key driver of diversification and reaffirmed the sector’s support for the initiative.

As part of the launch, the panel “ADOTalks: Sports Tourism Projects and Events 2026” showcased major events with tourism impact, including Major League Baseball games, international football exhibitions, padel competitions, the ATP Challenger 175 Cap Cana Cup and the Oceanman open-water swimming event. With this institutional debut, Adoturd officially begins operations as a coordinating body for the sports tourism ecosystem, aiming to align public, private and sports stakeholders and position the industry as a sustainable pillar of national development.