Santo Domingo.- The vice-president and candidate to head the Hotels and Restaurants Association (Asonahores) today called for a change of mentality when dealing with topics regarding the tourism industry’s development.

Haydée Kuret de Rainieri, who took the oath as the Caribbean Hotels Association’s (CHA) vice-president, said teamwork is necessary because in tourism the private sector and the government can’t work alone. She said the mentality must change, “because the private sector must make a sharp turn toward efficiency, reduce costs, profit a little less “and play with the volume,” which is what the industry has done with the all included.

Interviewed by the magazine Mirador, the business leader said the state must also adjust its mentality, applying fewer taxes and understanding the dynamics of tourism’s international competition. “The state will have to understand that the time has come to accept the tourism industry is an export activity, and which doesn’t export taxes.”

Kuret de Rainieri said the tourism industry is responsible for increasing the number of  rooms, maintain a quality offering for the tourist, whether hotels, restaurants, golf courses and it’s responsible for the visitor to return satisfied so their promotion attracts others.

She cautioned that to guarantee Dominican tourism’s perseverance and continued growth, the Tourism Ministry can’t do it alone, just as the private sector can’t, which is the main reason for teamwork.