Asonahores' challenges

[NewsWhore]

The new president of the National Association of Hotels & Restaurants (Asonahores), Luis Lopez has outlined his vision for his two-year term at the helm of the association, emphasizing that Dominican hoteliers need to innovate to ensure the sustainable development of the industry. He highlighted the fact today's tourist destination needs to offer more than what a resort offers. Tourism today, he stressed, needs offer the traveler the people, culture, side attractions, nightlife, adequate transport, communities and public services. In his work plan for 2006-2008, he listed transcendental changes such as innovations needed in high school education in tourism areas, improving land jurisdiction to attract more foreign investment in vacation properties, institutionalizing ground use plans for tourism areas, and bringing about changes in the law that assigns funds to municipalities so that hotel rooms and transient populations are taken into account. He also called for new formulas for cooperation between the private and public sector to build the base for a sustainable tourism industry. He spoke favorably about the burgeoning tourism clusters and their positive role in integrating all participating sectors. He also called for more private sector participation in infrastructure projects in tourism sectors and in the governmental advertising budget. He highlighted that the tourism industry generates US$600 million in taxes.

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