WTTC backs Dominican tourism and calls for more experiences

The WTTC is once again holding the Dominican Republic up as an example of what works in the Caribbean. The organisation, which brings together the world's largest travel companies, highlights the success of the Dominican tourism model and issues a recommendation worth reading carefully: expand the range of experiences beyond sun and beach. This is not a slap on the wrist, it is a roadmap. All-inclusive has taken the country to record arrival figures and a tourism share of GDP that nobody questions anymore. What the WTTC points out is that this success has room to grow if visitors find more than a sun lounger.

The reading for the sector is straightforward. Punta Cana and Bávaro will remain the engine, but spending per visitor does not rise with more rooms alone. It rises when tourists leave the resort, eat in a Santo Domingo restaurant, book an excursion in Samaná or stay an extra day in Puerto Plata. The WTTC already said as much when it praised Dominican tourism and called for higher spending per visitor. And last October, when Gloria Guevara and Frank Rainieri met in Punta Cana, the message was the same: experience is the new battleground.

The curious thing is that the country has the raw material. La Romana, Samaná, Puerto Plata, Barahona and Santo Domingo offer landscape, food and culture to build products that are not always sold well today. The challenge lies in distribution, training and connectivity between destinations. The technical school in Barahona and the Infotep hospitality centre in the old Hotel Guarocuya are signs that something is moving. What is missing is for the international tour operator to easily find what visitors want to experience.

For hotel investors, the WTTC recommendation is a chance to diversify. A resort that integrates local experiences into its offer does not compete on price alone, it competes on value. And for MITUR, tourism policy has a clear axis here: support small operators, organise the complementary offer and measure spending per visitor as a success indicator, not just arrivals.

Two things are worth watching in the coming months. First, whether the private sector turns this recommendation into concrete, packaged and sellable products. Second, whether spending-per-tourist figures keep pace with arrival growth. The WTTC has pointed the way. Execution is up to us.