Bávaro.- Fernando Hazoury, president of the Cap Cana group, has highlighted the potential profitability and viability of constructing a new airport in the Eastern zone of the Dominican Republic. With the region boasting over 50,000 hotel rooms, Hazoury believes the area could support not just one, but possibly two airports.
While he chose not to comment directly on President Luis Abinader’s decree 2-24, which repealed an earlier decree authorizing the establishment of the Bávaro International Airport, Hazoury emphasized the positive impact an additional airport could have on tourism. He suggested that the high number of accommodations in the area justifies the need for more airport facilities.
Hazoury further elaborated on the region’s capacity, stating that there are potentially 20,000 to 30,000 real estate properties, in addition to the existing hotel rooms. He argued that for a tourism destination, the threshold for airport profitability starts at 15,000 rooms, and with the combined total of hotel and real estate rooms approaching 70,000, a new airport is not just feasible but necessary.
This statement comes against the backdrop of a Supreme Court of Justice ruling that found the Executive Branch exceeded its authority with the decree concerning the construction of the Bávaro International Airport. Hazoury’s position reflects a broader perspective within the tourism industry regarding infrastructure development in the Dominican Republic’s rapidly growing Eastern region.