Several of the big businessmen in the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic They defended the need to maintain the incentives for their sector, contemplated in the Law for the Promotion of Tourism Development (158-01), so that the country can remain competitive compared to other destinations that apply the same strategy.
In celebration of the 62nd anniversary of the Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores), favored the modification of the norm to eliminate vices and tax platforms that, as Airbnboperate without paying taxes.
Frank Rainierifounder of the Puntacana Group and was president of Asonahores, considered that the situation of the sector is the same as that of the free zones, whose investors would go to other countries if tax breaks were taken away.
“I believe that this is not a law of incentives; it is what allows us to compete in the international market, because we only sell a small part of our products to the national market,” he explained.
He said that “for him, eliminating incentives would be like shooting the country in the foot.”
“Has the law been abused? Yes, that’s true. So, whoever abused it, punish him. But that doesn’t mean that we should simply wipe out a law that allows us to compete with the rest of the world and, in particular, with our neighbors,” Rainieri reflected.
He said that in the Caribbean region there are more countries trying to develop tourism that are looking at the model of the Dominican competitiveness law to draft their own, according to Diario Libre.
