Internal tourism plan has rates ranging from US $ 35

Santo Domingo, DR

The Government’s development of an internal tourism plan to reactivate the Dominican economy generates great relief for business people and workers who have been economically affected due to the closing of borders due to the coronavirus’s arrival.

President Luis Abinader announced the first phase of the “Internal Tourism Incentive Plan,” which provides interest-free financing to average families with two adults and two children to have access to hotels of an international category with low rates.

This plan carried out in conjunction with travel agents, banks, tour operators, and authorities of the public and private tourism sector, comes into effect on October 1, when the reopening of hotels in the country is established.

Providing families with a different environment after seven months of quarantine to enjoy the beach and reconnect with nature and recharge their batteries has been one of the main approaches to motivate local tourists to visit national hotels. “For example, an average middle-class family can do it with RD $ 22,000, or financed with a subsidized rate of 1,800 pesos per month, that is, less than 3% of the monthly income of the household, you can enjoy a family break in an all-inclusive plan. We want our families to go out to a different environment, enjoy our beaches, reconnect with nature, and recharge their batteries to continue the battle,” said the Head of State.

Support for

“Thanks to the hotel chains that are supporting us, opening their hotels despite the low occupancy rates and have offered discounted rates, almost at cost, to support the Dominican middle class. Thanks to local travel agencies and tour operators, a strengthened middle class,” she explained.

The president thanked the banks BHD León, Popular, and Reservas. They join this initiative by creating the facilities for Dominicans to access the different hotels in the country through financing.

The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, said that the bank would give a preferential rate, where the client will not pay interest for six to 12 months, and the banks will subsidize this part.

He emphasized that tourism is a crucial activity for our country. “Tourism has led us to have the most modern and complete air infrastructure in all of Central America and the Caribbean, and we are leaders in the arrival of tourists in the region and leaders in attracting investment.”

Collado explained that the country has 84,000 rooms in 823 hotels.

Of these rooms, 71,000 belong to 49 hotel chains, mostly of foreign origin, from Spain, the United States, Canada, Austria, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, and Turkey, affected in the middle of the pandemic. The official emphasized that the middle class has been the most affected in the crisis, “the small and medium entrepreneurs of travel agencies and tour operators are part of this class that struggles and is also fundamental in the tourist chain. That is why today we all come together to present this Internal Tourism Support Plan, as one of the responsible responses to the middle class and its well-being, in addition to economic recovery ”.

Hoteliers

Rafael Blanco Canto, executive vice president of the Viva Wyndham Resorts chain and honorary advisor to the Ministry of Tourism, explained to attract the international market, it is necessary to remove restrictions on travelers when they return to their country.

“The destinations that emit tourism to the Dominican Republic must eliminate quarantine restrictions when returning to their country, with this requirement, it is not possible to raise a continuous and adequate flow to sustain the other open hotels,” said Blanco Canto, referring to the fact that only the hotel Bayahibe of the Wyndham chain is open.

He guaranteed that the Dominican government would endeavor for those countries to eliminate the restrictions. They would achieve this through collaboration with Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the tour operators that work from these issuing destinations.

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 Reservations start at US $ 35

 Rates

These hotels’ rates vary from US $ 35 to US $ 170 depending on whether the hotel is all-inclusive or standard.

AmResorts chain

In June, Daniel Hernández indicated that they opened two of their hotels, and that reception has gone up 20% since they started, and at this time, it is between 25% and 35%.