The first day of the V CEAPI Congress in Punta Cana analyzes the opportunities of this industry as a driver of growth and social transformation
On the first day of the V edition of the CEAPI Ibero-American Business Congress, which will take place in Punta Cana, a roundtable was organized devoted to analyzing the role of Ibero-America as a global tourism power, the situation after the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges we face in the new international context.
The panel, made up of prominent business executives from the Ibero-American tourism industry and moderated by the President of Vocento, Ignacio Ybarra, emphasized the importance that tourism and leisure have acquired in the post-pandemic global society, as these are already two of its most valued aspects. for citizenship. And the important role that this industry plays as a growth engine is the continued growth of the Ibero-American economies.
For example, the speakers spoke Amancio López Seijas, president of HOTUSA; Alberto Bacó, co-founder of RE Capital; Elena Foguet, Business Director of The Bicester Collection, and Isidoro José Alanis Marcos, President of Grupo Global Exchange, have agreed to identify the challenges the current Ibero-American tourism industry must overcome to position itself as an engine of growth and social transformation .
With digitization, innovation, social responsibility and environmental sustainability as the key ways to enhance the Ibero-American role on the global tourism map, the panelists highlighted the need to develop the sector around efficient public policies and tailor it to business executives who can adapt the evolution. leading and modernizing the sector in the region. In this sense, Isidoro José Alanis has emphasized that «after an unimaginable crisis, we came out stronger in just 24 months. We have transformed ourselves and our challenge is to regain the trust and habit of tourism. Now we need to be able to meet the demand, restore the workforce by training our employees and provide good working conditions. We also need to diversify destinations and open up the offer to new alternatives.”
For his part, Puerto Rican Alberto Bacó emphasized that “Latin American cooperation is necessary to strengthen the region as a tourist alternative. Puerto Rico also has its own strengths: low taxes and the fact that Americans can travel without a passport in a country like the US with few people with that type of document (only 27% have it).”
Elena Foguet has pointed out that «the challenge and opportunity for tourism is to change the paradigm and engage with society in a different way: committing to talent, creativity and social and environmental sustainability. Tourism should be committed to society and lead the paradigm shift, leveraging the sector’s transversality that promotes economic growth and social and environmental improvement. We must apply transversality in everything we do and give back to society what it has given us. Digitization and technology are essential in the positioning of destinations, but human treatment and personal relationships are very important in the world of tourism. Digitization should serve to improve this human treatment and technology should give people and professionals in the sector more time to treat people, tourists.
For his part, Amancio López Seijas recalled that “tourism requires security – legal, health and citizen security – and adequate infrastructure. The challenge is to improve quality in order to improve the type of tourism we receive. The ‘cluster’ formed by small companies and family businesses should be strengthened and strengthened from a Latin American perspective.Tourism, a sector in which people work 365 days a year, demands vacancies that are not covered due to the high demand and commitment.That is why we have a corporate culture and training necessary and we know how to serve the customer. We are more than an industry, we are the industry of happiness. We are more than a sector because we are transversal, the key to the development of countries and societies. This is only possible with people and ensure employability”.
As a final message, Elena Foguet has asked governments “to value quality tourism and not let the media contribute to tourism phobia”. And Alberto Bacó has assured that we are in “one of the best moments of humanity because we have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves”.
Frank Rainieri, founder of the hotel group Puntacana, in turn called for “innovation and creativity as the basis for success” of a tourism project like the one in Punta Cana. Integration between business people from different countries is also key to promoting enterprises and projects. Dreams come about this way: with both feet on the ground and with the pragmatism that characterizes us entrepreneurs. The road to success does not end with obstacles and challenges to be overcome. Business must now lead the way in social and environmental change. We cannot leave it to politicians. Let’s become the leaders – and not just as businessmen – to make a better Latin America. We can no longer be the businessmen of the 19th and 20th centuries, but promote a fairer region with respect for free enterprise.
In an interview conducted by Jairon Severino, director of the Dominican financial newspaper El Dinero, Frank Rainieri, founder of the Puntacana Group, told how he created this tourist destination that “was born thanks to the desire for adventure, entrepreneurship, intuition and courage and courage of youth.
Rainieri, who hosted the event at one of his hotels -the Punta Cana Resort & Club- also wanted to underline “that the key to Punta Cana’s success is that it has managed to create a destination that % of Dominican GDP and it is a model that can serve as an example for the rest of Latin America.”
In addition, throughout the interview, he referred to the fact that “destinations and markets are not created in a year. It takes years: you suffer a lot, you lose money in the beginning. Punta Cana is not a product of Frank Rainieri, but also of Haydée Rainieri» who helped me during that time of sacrifice. I even managed to build an airport, the ninth in the Latin American region.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
