The regional director of the Caribbean area of the Globalia Group, Francisco ( Paco ) Pérez Menéndez, estimated that summer as a high season for the tourism sector in the Dominican Republic could be lost and hoteliers will have to use that time to implement the protocols of health security that guarantees confidence to tourists who decide to travel in the coming months and to strengthen the stay of local vacationers.
The tourism sector worldwide has been affected by confinement measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, so its reactivation will depend on new strategies focused on guaranteeing the health of visitors.
Pérez Menéndez acknowledges that his thoughts on reviving tourism in the short term were very pessimistic. “I think the opening decision from July is a very good decision,” since it gives the country a month to attract tourists because other tourist destinations will start later, according to local media.
However, “I am convinced that summer is lost,” he said, as a result of confinement measures in countries with the largest flow of tourists who prefer to vacation on the tropical island, such as the United States and Canada, which still maintain quarantine and limit the departure of air flights.
He reported that Dominican hotels have had strict logistical and sanitary protocol measures for a long time, so it will not be so difficult to adapt them to the demands of international organizations and the Ministry of Public Health to avoid Covid-19 infections.
The regional director of Globalia, a group that integrates the airline Air Europa, explained that “we are subject to complying with hygiene and health protocols. Now it’s time to add distance, deeper cleanings, and invest to train personnel and be able to correctly cope with protocol processes.”
He added that the possible strategy of enabling 30% of the rooms will help avoid crowds and that they are working to plan an effective way that guests do not have physical contact with employees, as well as the utensils and tools of use of the hotel.