Q & A with Felix Jimenez, Tourism Minister of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic’s travel industry put great numbers on the board in 2006 and now continues to be one of the Caribbean’s top destinations. The country reeled in nearly 4 million visitors last year, up a whopping 8.4 percent from 2005. This time around, the island nation hopes to get similar results or even go them one better based on an all-out diversification process in the local hotel sector.

Q.- Mr. Jimenez, how long have you been at the helm of the Dominican Tourism Department?
A.- Little more than six years.

Q.- Could you comment on some of your country’s top outcomes in 2006 and what perspectives are in the pipeline for the ongoing year?
A.- 2006 was a very good year for the Dominican Republic. The nation’s travel industry posted a 8.4 percent growth in terms of international arrivals. Some markets scored spectacular hikes, like Canada, the U.S., Spain, UK, Italy and Belgium. In the case of the Canadian outbound market, the Dominican Republic welcomed over half a million visitors. As far as 2007 is concerned, we expect to chalk up an 8 percent increase –or even higher. We’ve got great confidence in our ability to achieve that goal, especially now that the Dominican hotel sector has branched out that much.

There are certainly some plans in the making with major hotel chains, like Four Seasons and Apple Vacations. Sol Meliá from Spain is also planning on managing a couple of lodgings in Samana, which as a matter of fact, has panned out to be the country’s newest travel destination.

Q.- How many foreign tourists visited the Dominican Republic in 2006?
A.- Over 3.9 million.

Q.- How many hotel rooms does the country count on right now?
A.- There are 80,000 hotel rooms in the Dominican Republic, and as many as 50,000 of them are clustered in three-star, four-star and five-star facilities.

Q.- Will the Dominican Republic continue to put its smart money on the development of the cruise industry?
A.- Absolutely. Samana is just this close to becoming the Caribbean’s only seaport in which cruises will be docking in all year round. La Romana continues to be a great cruise destination, and so is Santo Domingo, poised to become the homeport for a number of major cruise lines. By the way, in 2006 the Dominican Republic strengthened its position as the only Caribbean destination with three different ports of call. As soon as Puerto Plata’s seaport makes its debut in the cruise industry, the country will count on not three, but four different ports of call, a record high for any island around the world.

Q.- What’s the actual contribution of the travel industry to the Dominican economy?
A.- Tourism has long been the country’s number-one economic powerhouse. If assessed in traditional terms, tourism chips in 7.5 percent of the Dominican GDP. However, its contribution to the global demand of goods and services, as well as investment, certainly renders in a much larger figure than that. I’d say that one fifth of the nation’s global demand for goods and services is focused on the tourism sector. In addition, tourism tops the list among the country’s sources of hard currency. In 2005, the Dominican travel industry raked in little more that $3.5 billion worth of revenues. I think that when the Central Bank finally releases the figures as to the contribution of tourism to the national economy, the lump sum is going to be close to $3.8 billion.

Q.- What about the prices?
A.- I can only say that the country boasts an excellent quality-price ratio. No other nation offers a top-quality service at so affordable prices. That speaks volumes of my country’s good intentions because we simply don’t like bleeding tourists white.