Editor's note: The Dominican Republic has recently been in the negative news spotlight, but Carlos Castillo sees better days ahead. The following is written by Carlos Castillo, the Consul General of the Dominican Republic in New York.
The Dominican Republic evokes warmth and hospitality-it's who we are.
And despite what many recent media reports suggest, I'm confident our burgeoning tourism industry has yet to see its best days.
Here's what gives me hope:
Our Renewed Commitment to Public Safety
As a community, we embrace self-improvement and training.
The Dominican Republic's crime rate is well below those of other countries in the region and continues to fall-but that doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels or ignore negative news.
In 2018, we launched a nationwide 911 system to further curb crime, which led to a 27 percent decrease in the number of criminal acts reported against foreign tourists.
Last month, in the wake of multiple widely covered tourist fatalities, we strengthened our safety measures to restore the confidence of the traveling public.
These initiatives include doubling hotel inspections, increasing compliance with food and beverage protocols and establishing a multilingual emergency tourist center to connect visitors better with government agencies.
We've also started ServSafe training and accreditation for the country's inspectors to help boost food safety standards across our hotels and restaurants.
The bottom line? We always strive to do more-because we know we can always do better when it comes to safeguarding our visitors and locals alike.
Our Focus on Growth
The Dominican Republic remains laser-focused on growth and innovation-a vote of confidence from both our government and from our investors.
Just recently, our Tourism Development Council approved new hotel projects totaling $467.5 million, mostly from foreign capital.
These type of expansions not only boost our capacity to welcome more visitors but also add to the more than 330,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country's thriving tourism sector.
They also signal to other investors that the DR is ripe for development-because it is.
Our Legacy of Welcome
The Dominican Republic boasts a longstanding history of hospitality. Tourism has skyrocketed over the past 50 years and does not seem to be slowing down any time soon.
In 1984, the tourism sector outpaced sugar as the country's leading foreign exchange earner. By 1987, the number of visitors first exceeded one million capturing the rank of the Caribbean's fifth-largest earner of tourism dollars.
On July 19, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic reported that more than 40 million tourists had visited the country over the last seven years.
In 2018 alone, the Dominican Republic welcomed 6.6 million guests-a 6.2 percent increase over the previous year and rate of growth that exceeds the world average.
Don't take my word for it-visit and see for yourself: the Dominican Republic has it all.
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