The participants signed the Punta Cana Declaration, committing themselves to make tourism a pillar of sustainable development

UNWTO and Ministers of the Americas join forces to relaunch tourism in the region

photo_camera FOTO/OMT - UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, and Dominican President, Luis Abinader

Tourism Minister David Collado along with 15 other tourism ministers and four deputy ministers of the Americas established agreements and collaboration mechanisms for the relaunch of tourism in the region, at a meeting convened by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) led at its inauguration by the President of the Republic Luis Abinader.

Tourism leaders in the Americas pledged to jointly revive tourism, making the sector a general priority and adopting international protocols. This reactivation is committed to innovation and digital transformation, as well as continuing to make progress in sustainable tourism and strengthening support mechanisms for the most affected workers and businesses.

Opening the meeting, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili acknowledged the Dominican Republic's good handling of the pandemic and stressed that "restoring confidence in travel is a first and essential step to restarting tourism, bringing hope to millions of people in the Americas and boosting recovery in general".

Welcoming the Ministers and representatives of Tourism of the Americas, the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, highlighted the role of the UNWTO as a catalyst for innovation and synergies and called on those present to strengthen themselves as a shared destination, as a region, through unity, determination, focus and joint vision.

Welcoming the Ministers and representatives of Tourism of the Americas, the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, highlighted the role of the UNWTO as a catalyst for innovation and synergies and called on those present to strengthen themselves as a shared destination, as a region, through unity, determination, focus and joint vision.

For his part, Tourism Minister David Collado stressed that the sector generates employment opportunities for more than 500,000 families and contributes 15% of the country's Gross Domestic Product. He also reaffirmed the commitment "with the Dominicans, with the sector's collaborators and with the millions of tourists who are anxiously waiting to visit the beautiful destinations of the Dominican Republic".

Re-establishing confidence in travel, protecting businesses and jobs, and ensuring that the benefits of the reactivation of tourism are felt beyond the sector itself, were some of the main topics of discussion, attended in person by the Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Tourism of Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela, and virtually by those of Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua and Peru. The meetings were held with the coordination, as host country, of the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic and the participation of representatives of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) and the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic, among other actors in the sector.

At the close of the meeting, attendees signed the Punta Cana Declaration, through which the region's leaders committed to making tourism a pillar of sustainable development and ensuring an effective and relevant post-COVID recovery action plan.

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