The capital expects new road will bring tourist stampede from eastern resorts

Santo Domingo.- The imminent opening of the Coral Highway, which links the Punta Cana-La Romana resort region ??with Santo Domingo, has begun to spur concern among business leaders and entities which promote tourism to the Americas’ first European city.

As part of the Third Press & Tourism Summit Santo Domingo 2012, representatives of the Santo Domingo Tourism Cluster, Tourism Ministry and the National Hotels and Tourism Association (Asonahores) cautioned that the Dominican capital needs to improve its structures and services, to receive the hundreds of thousands visitors expected once the highway is inaugurated.

Tourism Vice minister Fausto Hernandez said while the Government made ??significant efforts to encourage tourist visits, the sector’s other players also need to contribute to refurbish the city.

In that regard Asonahores spokesman Arturo Villanueva said the hoteliers want Santo Domingo’s limitations as a tourism destination to be addressed one by one, but with the speed which the large numbers of expected visitors merits.

Among other figures disclosed during the event hosted by the Dominican Tourism Press Association (Adompretur), is that more than 360,000 tourists from Punta Cana and La Romana will visit the Dominican capital via the Coral Highway annually.