Above: the meeting in Santo Domingo

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina held talks this week with Luis Emilio Rodriguez Amiami, president of ASONAHORES, the country’s hotel and restaurant association.

The 20-minute conversation covered the progress of tourism in the country, according to a statement from the National Palace.

The ASONAHORES president pointed to a number of initiatives currently ongoing in the country that could spur tourism developmnet, including the new El Coral highway.

He also discussed the importance of “reducing risk” in tourism, by diversifying the country’s source markets beyond traditional source countries such as Spain, the United Kingdom and France.

The meeting included Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia and ASONAHORES vice presidents Arturo Villanueva and Paola Rainieri, among others.

The Dominican Republic earlier this year announced its goal to achieve 10 million annual tourists by 2023.