For the first time, the Dominican Republic is hosting the meeting of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the most important summit for the organization and the most important for tourism.
The 118th edition of the meeting, which began on Wednesday in the tourist province of La Altagracia in the Dominican Republic and ended this Thursday, is attended by 19 ministers from 38 member states and 3 observers, as well as nearly 200 delegates … Chaired by Dominican Tourism Minister David Collado and UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, the conference was attended by ministers and delegations from UNWTO member states.
Faced with the choice of the Dominican Republic as the venue, David Collado, the Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, thanked the decision, interpreting it as recognition of the success story of the country’s tourism industry in recent years, which has made Be the leader of the field.
In the Colombian case, the country is the third with the most visitors to the Dominican Republic, and in 2022, it was recognized as the destination in the Caribbean with the most sales in this market, unique because of its more than 12 destinations. attraction and experience. segment, taste, purpose, interests and budget.
Referring to the success story of the Dominican Republic, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili highlighted the achievements made by the country in terms of tourism, especially its rapid recovery. He said that it has become a world reference for tourism.
As a primary issue, all industry players discuss sustainability in tourism, looking to develop more sustainable tourism destinations. “We hope that this forum is particularly well suited to promote responsible, local, sustainable and universally accessible tourism,” said Roberto Alvarez, Dominican Foreign Minister.
In sum, with regard to the most urgent tourism challenges in the Caribbean, Minister Collado called on the members of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to unite to seek joint solutions to common issues such as Sargassum. The name given to the uncontrollable tides of brown, stinky algae that inundate Caribbean beaches.
Sargassum has the ability to grow very quickly, doubling its biomass in less than 20 days if growing conditions are favorable, as in this case. It is estimated that 30 million tons of sargassum will enter the Caribbean coast this year. This phenomenon causes incalculable economic losses in the tourism sector of the region, as well as affecting the environment and being an obvious nuisance for residents of coastal areas.
“The solution to the sargassum problem cannot be individual,” Collado said in his opening remarks at the 118th meeting of the UNWTO Executive Council.
Referring to Sargassum, he said that a solution should be found to the issues affecting the region at a general level. “Organizations like this should help smaller countries find solutions when we don’t have solutions. Tourism is not a luxury for the Dominican Republic, but something necessary because of its impact on the economy, which is more than half of the gross domestic product (GDP) represents more than 25 percent of the U.S.”, Collado said.
On Tuesday, the Inter-Institutional Forum for Sustainable Tourism was held in the Dominican Republic, as well as the “For Tourism Sustainable Development Goals,” the project “Transforming tourism value chains in developing countries and small island states”.
The celebration of this summit represents an achievement for the Dominican Republic, which has been adopted as a priority in the current management of the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, “to promote the development of responsible, sustainable and eco-friendly tourism in line with the objectives United Nations for the promotion of sustainable development”.
