To face the expansion process that the Dominican hotel sector has registered, the biggest challenge it has is to increase the supply of qualified human resources.
The president and executive vice president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), David Llibre and Andrés Marranzini, respectively, said that if national and international conditions are favorable, the country expects to receive 8 million tourists this year. by air and another 2 million foreign visitors by cruise, thus reaching the goal of 10 million established in 2012.
In addition, it is expected that between 2024 and 2025 some 6,000 additional hotel rooms will come into operation.
The Asonahores executives highlighted that what has been seen is that as this growth in the arrival of tourists to the country has been registered, in the same way, the investment has been made at the level of accommodation and complementary offers so that visitors Don’t just stay in hotels.
In this sense, they assured that the growth in the number of arrivals of tourists and rooms in operation brings with it different aspects to work on, and the biggest challenge is the adequate training of the collaborators that hotels need to be able to provide high-level service.
They added that as rooms are added, the quality of service offered definitely deteriorates to the same extent.
That is why they said that agreements have been made with the National Institute for Professional Technical Training (Infotep) and with universities.
They indicated that with the scope they are having with Infotep, through specialized courses, the hotel sector should have two and a half employees for each room, according to calculations made, depending on the type of hotel.
In other words, if 10,000 rooms are to be incorporated, for example, 30,000 available employees will be needed, taking into account the development of new tourist poles such as Miches, in the East, and Pedernales, in the South.
They point out that the availability of human capital in all areas is also important to benefit local employment so that there is no bid for workers between hotels.
They highlighted the importance of implementing the section of Law 368-22 on Territorial Planning, Land Use, and Human Settlements.
Rental: They ask to regulate platforms
The houses and apartments built by the tourist real estate sector in the Dominican Republic exceed those of the hotel industry, so those that are rented through platforms must be regulated with the aim of guaranteeing the safety of foreign visitors and taking care of the country as a tourist destination.
This was stated by the president and executive vice president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), David Llibre and Andrés Marranzini, respectively.
The Asonahores executives indicated that in the country there are 85,000 hotel rooms and 100,000 tourist real estate houses and apartments, which are mostly rented through digital platforms, without any regulation, so if anything happens to the visitor ” It happens to him in the Dominican Republic”.
They argued that when a tourist stays in a hotel, they have a higher percentage of guarantees of their safety, and of receiving a good service, which is not offered by the other type of accommodation.
They said that there is a will on the part of the Ministry of Tourism to implement a program to regulate these platforms in the country.
They indicated that 312 cities in the world have already done so.
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