SANTO DOMINGO.- Although they expect profits of US$4.0 billion this year, or two percent higher than last year, the hotels and restaurants grouped in Asonahores yesterday asked the Government to let the dollar’s exchange rate float, to make the Dominican tourism industry more competitive than those of the other Caribbean countries.
Asonahores vice-president Arthur Villanueva affirmed that the global crisis will affect all sectors, for which the tourism industry and the Government must work together to ease that impact.
He asked the Government to strengthen the industry to prevent what took place with the free zones.
Villanueva also complained that the hoteliers haven’t been taken into account in the commission designated to studies the energy system’s problems, and stressed that country has the most expensive kilowatt-hour in all the Americas, for which the Government must look for a feasible solution.
He said Asonahores proposed that the Government include them in the category of non-regulated users.
According to the Central Bank the number of nonresident Dominican and foreign tourists arriving in the country has been falling since July -reaching a high of 10.4 percent in September and October- after an average rise of 6 percent until June.
SOURCE: diariolibre.com
