Last week, Lemay participated in the 40th edition of the International Tourism Fair, FITUR 2020, one of the most important events of the global tourism industry. René Hubert, Lemay associate and director, International, accompanied a delegation of dignitaries from the government of the Dominican Republic and the Banreservas, the country’s main bank.
Held at the IFEMA congress centre in Madrid, the fair brings together tourism professionals from all over the world. This year alone, more than 11,000 companies from 165 countries welcomed over 250,000 visitors, including more than 150,000 industry professionals.
The objective of the Dominican mission was to promote the tourist potential of the Pedernales region, located in the southwest of the country. Details of the tourism development plan elaborated by Lemay were presented by René Hubert at a reception attended by tour operators, hotel chain managers and investors invited by Banreservas.
Government ministers also addressed the audience at the reception, as did central bank CEO Simón Lizardo Mézquita. The latter said that the master plan that has been drawn up for the area “will go down in history as a regional reference for the vision and integral management of participatory and sustainable development. We are therefore firmly committed to support it and to be its main strategic partners in making it a reality.”
The Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Juan Ariel Jiménez, highlighted the impact that tourism will have on the development of the entire Southwest, one of the poorest regions of the country: “Pedernales will be a model of responsible tourism development that is very different from that of the other poles of the Dominican Republic.”
For his part, the Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier García affirmed that Pedernales would be the first tourist hub in the country that will have been developed according to an initial plan for the entire territory’s development. According to him, the plan designed for the development of tourism in the province of Pedernales “is of a higher level” than what currently exists elsewhere in the country.
According to the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism is the world’s third largest export sector, its ever-accelerating growth makes it one of the most powerful engines of international economic development. FITUR is therefore a must for anyone wishing to promote new tourism products, learn about the latest trends or seize the best business opportunities.
