Dominican Tourism Secretary Felix Jimenez Speaks Out About the $5 Surcharge to be Levied on Incoming Tourists to the Country

Caribbean News Digital (CND) has been keeping track of a hot issue: the $5 surcharge the Dominican government intends to levy on all incoming foreign tourists. Over the past two weeks, CND carried out a poll on this topic whose results are posted in today´s edition. In the same breath, CND talked exclusively with Mr. Felix Jimenez, tourism secretary of the Dominican Republic.

"The basic purpose of the surcharge hinges on the fact that this country has had an extraordinary tourist development following the coming of megabuck hotel chains and the building of an incredible number of hotel rooms. However, we lacked enough infrastructure in terms of roads, signaling, lighting, sanitary landfills, and the recollection and treatment of cesspool waters. Another intention behind this measure is the possibility of helping all Dominican travel circuits paint a First World picture of the nation a year and a half from now," Mr. Jimenez said in response to our first question about the contradictory decision.

"This surcharge will be implemented for a number of years until we manage to put together the necessary funds for all the works we want to do, at an estimated price tag of $200 million. But if international organizations, like the Inter American Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, could eventually lend us 70 percent of the money, then the surcharge will be used to collect the remaining 30 percent," he added.

Asked about the gradual income money this measure is supposed to bring and about the institutions in charge of handling the funds, Mr. Jimenez pointed out: "Gains will top $20 million every year and that money will be handled by the Tourist Zone Infrastructure Committee presided over by the Tourism Secretary and made up of the Undersecretary of Public Works and Communications, the Head of the National Institute of Potable Water and Sewerage, a former president of the National Private Enterprise Council, and Marino Ginebra of ASONAHORES, plus an engineer suggested by ASONAHORES and handpicked by the President of the Dominican Republic."

Tourists will pay $2.50 upon arriving in the country and the same amount when departing. And even though the measure took an early flak in the local hotel and travel sectors, Mr. Jimenez believes that initial anger has been left behind.

"ASONAHORES has now joined the Committee and the only thing it´s trying to get -with our full support, of course- is the possibility of substituting the decree by a trusteeship act that will create a special fund for tourist infrastructure and maintenance of works, as well as the promotion of the country. In this effort, we´ll count on the support of the private sector every step of the way, both in terms of contributing to the fund and handling and making decisions. We must rely on those decision makers and on the decisions that will be made later on in both directions," he noted.

Secretary Jimenez doesn´t believe the $5 surcharge will make a piecemeal dent in the number of arrivals to the Dominican Republic.

"It´s likely that some of those markets that deal with cheap products could get hurt in the process. Anyway, what our country is ready for is to give an absolutely beautiful image in 2006, as it has done up to now, but also to paint a picture in which great infrastructure is the name of the game. That´s something we believe we could do in the mid term, perhaps in the short run. The whole process could portray a better image of the Dominican Republic and, at the end of the day, increase the number of incoming visitors."