Dominican Republic highlights tourism’s role in food security and exit from FAO Hunger Map

Punta Cana.- The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Tourism presented FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu with its strategy for using tourism to strengthen national production and food security, highlighting the country’s recent removal from the FAO Hunger Map.

During the meeting, Tourism Vice Minister Carlos Peguero explained how the sustained growth of tourism has created a stable market for Dominican agricultural products, strengthening value chains, generating income for producers, and improving food availability across the country.

Peguero said the tourism industry purchases more than RD$98 billion in agricultural products annually, making it one of the largest markets for national production.

“Tourism has proven to be an effective tool for transforming economic growth into human development and social well-being,” Peguero said, emphasizing that each additional tourist increases demand for locally produced goods and services. He added that continued tourism growth presents an opportunity to further expand national production while improving sustainability, quality, innovation, and competitiveness to meet international market standards.

Qu Dongyu expressed satisfaction with his first visit to the Dominican Republic and praised the country’s progress in connecting tourism, agriculture, and territorial development. He reiterated the FAO’s interest in supporting initiatives that strengthen food security and improve community well-being.

Officials pointed to projects such as the Hand-in-Hand initiative in Pedernales and the development of Cabo Rojo as examples of territorial models that can link tourism with local production.

The meeting also addressed ways to organize and diversify the local agri-food supply through greater traceability, improved logistics, formalization, sustainability, and quality standards.

The Ministry of Tourism presented its “Tourism as a Platform for Linkages with National Production” initiative, while representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Meliá presented projects focused on territorial development and reducing food waste in the hotel industry.