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It's Time to Pitch a Hand

TEXT: JOSÉ CARLOS DE SANTIAGO PHOTOS: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOURISM INSTITUTE / BOLSA TURÍSTICA DEL CARIBE

IF BOTH THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS UNITE, UNLESS WE COME TOGETHER AND BE BORN AGAIN WITH A DIFFERENT VIEW FOR SUSTAINABLE, MINDFUL AND RESPONSIBLE TOURISM, WE WON'T OVERCOME THIS PANDEMIC, SAYS LUIS FELIPE AQUINO HUMEAU, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOLSA TURÍSTICA DEL CARIBE (BTC), AN EVENT WHOSE 24TH EDITION WILL GO VIRTUAL AND INTERACTIVE ON NOVEMBER 19-21

Founder of the Bolsa Turística del Caribe (BTC) more than 20 years ago, Luis Felipe Aquino Humeau came to Spain with the idea of studying medicine, a dream that lasted until he was offered a job "as a receptionist in a three-tower hotel with a central building in Playa Victoria, Cádiz. Little by little I began to climb up the ladder to become an assistant manager of reservations, which allowed me to apply for a scholarship in Madrid to study at the Institute of Tourism Studies in the career of Hotel Management and Tourism," recalls the man who in 2016 was declared a Tourist Personality of the Dominican Republic by the Dominican Association of Tourism Press.

Afterwards, this recognized academic and pioneer of international tourism fairs in his country (the 24th edition of BTC, which he organizes, will take place in November) would go to the University of Washington to pursue a master's degree in Tourism Organization, Planning and Sales. Later he would complete his training with other graduates, managing a restaurant, running the three-star hotel, Ecuador, in Torremolinos..., until he got a contract for Bolivia, where he settled for three years starting in 1978.

"In Bolivia I started as an advisor to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, to which the Bolivian Institute of Tourism belonged, and after three months I was offered the position of Director of Promotion and Marketing. I came to direct the national and international campaigns of that beloved country. That was a great experience for me. "I returned to the Dominican

Republic because in the last of the five coups d'état that I spent in Bolivia, that of General Luis García Meza, I felt that my life was in danger. Already in my country they asked me to make a diagnosis of Cayo Levantado and a month and a half later they proposed me the management of his hotel".

Yours has truly been a great career, yet you haven't said yet that you served as consul in Cadiz.

“Indeed, the General Consulate was in Madrid, but for ten years I was honorary vice-consul in Cadiz. From there, shipments of barrels were made to the Dominican Republic from the mother of sherry, which instead of sugar cane was used as the raw material for a rum that was produced at the time of the Siboney brand, and which the Dominicans did not like very much because above all it smelled of brandy, which prevented it from competing with Bermúdez and Brugal, however, it was not bad".

1982 was a decisive year in your career, wasn't it?

"Called up by Dr. Rafael Antonio Suberví Bonilla, then Minister of Tourism, in 1982 he appointed me director of the Dominican Republic Tourism Office after hearing me give a lecture. A year later he brought me as Marketing Director and together we developed the campaign to attract the European market that in the 80's did not travel to our country. To give you an idea: in 1982 we had no more than 8,000 rooms. In fact, Haiti received a greater volume of tourists than we did.

"So we started working with the European market. We started with Spain, Italy, France, bringing in groups of wholesale tour operators?".

Do you remember what the first Spanish tour operator to build a hotel in Dominican Republic really was?

"If you are referring to the first hotel corresponding to the modern era, after the Law 153 of Incentive to the Tourist Development was enacted in 1971, that was the Jacktar Village, the first All Inclusive, and it was built in Playa Dorada, Puerto Plata. However, if we move to the time of the Republic, the Ambos Mundos Hotel appears in 1844, and 30 years later the second one was built, but naturally it was a family hotel. "The hotel industry in the Dominican Republic, as it was born in all Europe, is Spanish. Those who brought the hotel industry were the Spanish. In periods like the one between 1902 and 1910, many hotels were built but all with European names, as was the case of the Garibaldi. In 1942 the

decline of the family hotel industry arrived and the modern one began with the inauguration of the Jaragua, which dates back to the time of Generalísimo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.

"During the dictatorship the country was organized and structured, the Ministry of Education and the Army were founded, a tourist infrastructure was created by building hotels all over the island; the first national currency appeared in 1936 (seven years before the construction of the port had begun), numerous institutions for healthy recreation and leisure emerged, etc.

"I remember that Trujillo left open in 1955, in an area of 800 000 m2, the international exhibition called Peace and Confraternity Fair of the Free World. And that same night, December 20th, Angelita Trujillo inaugurated the Water and Light Theater, better known as Agua y Luz, a three-story semicircular theater with a majestic fountain with more than 800 lights, water, the work of Carlos Buigas, responsible for the design and execution of the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, in Barcelona. This was the first theater of light, water and sound in America and the rest of the world.

"Forerunner of the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic, Don Angel Miolan, may he rest in peace, recognized as the father of Dominican tourism, a self-confessed anti-trujillo (he spent 27 years in exile) told me: "Luis Felipe, with great regret I must admit that in truth the father of tourism is Trujillo," but in truth, although there was a basis, all that we live: the legal basis and what supports the current tourism development we owe to this great man.

"Well, Don Angel summoned the Spanish engineer and economist Juan de Arespacochaga y Felipe, general director of Tourism Promotion and president of the National Tourism Company, who after touring the country presented to the Dominican State the potential analysis of tourism development in the Dominican Republic and the first territorial ordering. Thus, he proposed five areas: four on the coast and one in the mountains, which he called poles of tourism development".

You also took on high-responsibility jobs within the sector.

"Some. In 1982 I was appointed Director of Marketing and Promotion, and in 1986, with the change of government, the incoming one asked me to draw up the plan to promote the White Paper on Tourism and I did so. Then I received a telegram where I was

Already in my country they asked me to make a diagnosis of Cayo Levantado and a month and a half later they proposed me the management of his hotel

given the responsibility of Undersecretary of State for Tourism, that is, Deputy Minister of Tourism, with our dear friend, Fernando Rainieri, may he rest in peace, as Secretary. I was his right hand in the ministry and together we took very positive actions, such as starting to develop the emerging markets of South America".

You're a collegiate man, a cholar, founder of tourism-oriented schools.

"Well, I already left the university after 23 years as Dean of Tourism at the APEC University (UNAPEC). I left a career, the most competitive in the market, I left the celebration of inter-university gastronomic competitions, the only ones that were held for 20 consecutive years.

"For me it is an honor to belong as a full member to the Dominican Academy of Gastronomy that in a short time has achieved -and you can reaffirm it, José Carlos who has been our mentor- not only to instill and create awareness but also to position and put in value our gastronomy".

You founded the Bolsa Turística del Caribe back in 1990. What drove you to do that?

"As Marketing Director I traveled to all international fairs, as well as Undersecretary. I do not forget that many people told me: "Luis Felipe, how is it possible that a country with such a high demand for tourism, for such a warm hospitality, has not yet organized any fairs", and they were right. We did. Within the statutes we established that it would always take place in the city of

Santo Domingo, the first city of America because it was the cradle of the evangelization of the New World and from where everything started, but was not visited, there was no flow of cultural tourism. We understood that a city where the hotels are at the level of the Malecon, with that promenade, its fortress of survival could be the events, because the occupation closed barely to 50%.

"We decided to convene the BTC from Santo Domingo to promote and publicize the First City of America and, at the same time, combine this destination with the offer of nature tourism, sports, beach, adventure ... We have worked, and in this lies our difference with other events, the non-traditional tourism issuing markets, understood as Spanish speaking in the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the emerging markets of South America".

For me it is an honor to belong as a full member to the Dominican Academy of Gastronomy that in a short time has achieved not only to instill and create awareness but also to position and put in value our gastronomy

It's time to show solidarity, to be measured, to become aware of a reality: the public and private sectors need to join together with respect for an activity that reactivates production

How many professionals attended the inaugural fair?

"Look, at the first fair we were surprised and I'll tell you why: only the Association of Peruvian Tour Operators, to give you an idea, attended with 50 travel agents and tour operators. That was an immense achievement, but we also brought from Ecuador, Puerto Rico and all those areas that did not know Santo Domingo, because their knowledge of the Dominican Republic was limited, if anything, to Punta

Cana and Puerto Plata. "BTC helped us, for example, to create with Tame Ep, an airline from Ecuador, the charter flights, which allowed us to move more than 9 000 Ecuadorians to Punta

Cana, but combined it with Santo Domingo". A fair like BTC is now moving to the digital platform...

"Well, José Carlos, we met in Madrid in January of this year and you saw how the Dominican Republic's

stand was full. The Minister and the authorities of the tourism sector were supercontented by the hiring that had been achieved. We were also very satisfied because we felt that this 2020 would be the largest BTC, thanks to the fact that we had obtained confirmation from Panama, Colombia, Spain... We had even planned to hold the second Latin American Congress on Religious Tourism and Emerging Destinations, which aims to encourage and promote the rich heritage of monuments and sites that motivate faith, which are tourist attractions, in addition to highlighting the symbols of the religiosity of the Latin American peoples.

"Unfortunately everything fell with the pandemic. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

predicted that in 2020 the flow of tourists worldwide would be over 4%, when in 2019 it had closed with 1.5 billion travelers, and we had done very well, because without counting the cruise passengers, we maintained about 7 million and reached more than 7.56 billion foreign exchange. The prospects were very promising, however, everything went wrong, because of the way this health crisis has hit the world".

DATE was canceled, so the international agreements for 2021 will be signed in the course of this year's BTC...

"We decided -and it was a daring move, really, José Carlos- to make a virtual interactive tourism fair, bringing us closer to models from other countries. The primary part was achieved: to synchronize the accesses of the tour operators and the people who want to join the event, which will have two main points: the business roundtable and the vacation market; both will be interactive spaces that will be held live which will allow to establish contacts, make legal job offers, etc.

"BTC will take place from November 19th to 21st. The opening will take place with the corresponding capacity; there will be a maximum of 50 people in attendance, keeping the health protocols".

Is there any message you want to convey from the pages of Excelencias?

"It's time to show solidarity, to be measured, to become aware of a reality: the public and private sectors need to join together with respect for an activity that reactivates production at the national level and leaves a great social, cultural, economic and environmental impact. We must act together to overcome this pandemic and "be born" with a different vision for a sustainable, conscious and responsible tourism".

I already left the university after 23 years as Dean of Tourism at the APEC University (UNAPEC). I left a career, the most competitive in the market, I left the celebration of inter-university gastronomic competitions, the only ones that were held for 20 consecutive years

SUMMARY

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