Sabrina Cambiaso, Director of the Dominican Republic’s Tourism Office for the UK/Ireland

Sabrina Cambiaso, Director of the Dominican Republic’s Tourism Office for the UK/Ireland
By Jose Carlos de Santiago

In spite of the crisis in Europe, which can be felt in the tourist arrival rates to the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic maintains high arrival figures. In London, the travel promotion effort has positioned the Antillean nation in the catalogues of luxury tour operators, an unthinkable reality some years ago.   

How long have you been working as director of the Tourism Office?
I’ve been doing it for eleven years.

What are the main tour operators and airlines presently working with you?
Nowadays, TUI is the main group, along with Thomson and First Choice brands. Since August 2009, we have regular flight on British Airways, what has allowed us to be sold through independent tour operators too.

How long does a British tourist stay in the Dominican Republic?
Two weeks average, though there are some visitors who stay longer. Golfers, for instance, can fly on Thursdays and return on Sundays on British Airways.

There is a tourism segment of British pensioners who settle down as residents in the Dominican Republic. How is this tourism segment doing? Do they buy properties in the Dominican Republic?
Last week, the Ministry of Tourism attended a fair of second residencies as luxury product here, in London. There is small community of Brits that has moved to the north of the Dominican Republic, though they are not necessarily pensioners, as they own small businesses there. Here, within the framework of World Travel Market, there is an inbound market with a British representative, who has been living for several years in the Dominican Republic.

You promote three types of tourism: middle class traveling on charters, golf tourism and upscale tourism, which have been encouraged by the Dominican Republic during the last three or four years. Would you mind giving me some estimates regarding to these kinds of tourists?
I don’t have the numbers, but we are quite satisfied because of being positioned among the destinations managed by high range operators in the UK, who wouldn’t have included us in that group before 2009. In the Dominican Republic, we offer Las Vegas-styled experiences with the Hard Rock, boutique hotels or those offering villages such as Tortuga Bay, as well as mountain hotels next to a national park, which brought about our inclusion, after the introduction of a regular flight.

How many British tourists visit the Dominican Republic and what are their main destinations?
The Dominican Republic was put on the map for the UK market with Puerto Plata, but Punta Cana gained more visitors than Puerto Plata. Nevertheless, I think that we have a huge treasure in this destination, where different activities can be carried out.

I was pleased to see the Excelencias magazine’s cover where rafting in Latin America was mentioned. In our mountains, specifically in Jarabacoa, we count on 18 kilometers for rafting practice, what makes us a one-of-a-kind destination in the Caribbean. We could say that the Dominican Republic is a small continent.

We welcomed almost 172,000 Brits in 2010, a shy number if compared to the results in 2009, but if you take into consideration what the Caribbean has lost, we should affirm that it hasn’t been bad at all. The charter tourism has actually grown progressively less, but the tourism with independent tour operators has been increased.

Have the taxes levied by British airlines on Caribbean countries caused any damage to the Dominican Republic?
Unfortunately, the Dominican Republic has also been affected by the Air Passenger Duty (APD). Along with other Caribbean countries and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), we’ve been lobbying to let the British government know how much it damages us because, for instance, flying to Miami and Hawaii entails fewer taxes than flying to the Dominican Republic.  That’s an unfair tax.

Do you think there’s any way to work out this injustice?
Through the CTO and the International Organization of Tourism Offices, we have promoted the dialogue and put the Caribbean communities on the UK map so the British government can pay attention to them, as it’s the one to make the call. Those communities have been hit by those high taxes during their visits to the Caribbean.

Does being a member of the Commonwealth represent any advantage?
No, but we’re trying to get a more balanced tax because we know for sure that it won’t fade away.

How is the crisis in this country hitting outbound markets?
There are people with stable jobs who don’t want to quit their holidays. They rather sacrifice any other element. This reality has been reviewed by studies and surveys, so we know that there are people who will continue travelling. Europe is undoubtedly suffering a crisis and the Caribbean won’t be able to get recovered in the near future, but it won’t stop welcoming tourists.

Do you happen to know if there is any hotelier group, run or funded by British companies, planning to open facilities in the Dominican Republic?
No, there won’t be any British company with such a strong presence as our Spanish groups’.

Do Britons prefer any Spanish hotelier group in particular?
I don’t know if I could call it favoritism, but there are important alliances on the table. For instance, we all know about the alliance between TUI group and Riu hotels. On the other hand, you have the fidelity element that can be felt in public fairs when tourists prefer Bahia Principe because they already know it and like it. The same happens with Iberostar Group. Tourists, who already know one of these hotels, handpick another one owned by the same group but in other location, as fidelity element.

Do you have the numbers related to repeat rates in terms of British visitors?
We don’t have that figures, as tour operators don’t make them public in order to keep them away from companies, but we estimate it in terms of the attendance to public fairs.

What would be the main outbound tour operators from the British market to the Dominican Republic?
TUI and Thomas Cook are still very important in spite of the decrease, and there are some other operators considerably selling the Dominican Republic and British Airways operation remains stable, though it recently reviewed its routes and decided to maintain Punta Cana.

How often do you receive British Airways flights?
On Thursdays and Sundays, with an Antigua stopover, which counts on many connections with the rest of the Caribbean and provides more combinations.

What are the luxury tour operators working with you?
We have recently joined Caribtours’ catalogue and Complete Caribbean’s, with the British Airways operation.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
In this market, we’re introducing the tour operators into the ‘relaxploration’ idea, allowing people that visit the Dominican Republic to relax and enjoy the facilities, spa, as well as explore, practice mountain climbing, adventure sports and get into touch with our culture.