Santo Domingo Convention Center Would Transform City into Top Business Destination

The Dominican Republic has all the necessary conditions to become the leading business center in the Caribbean region, except for thing: a Convention Center in Santo Domingo (CCSD).

...the ITB suggested that the CCSD should be between 45,000 and 60,000 square meters in surface size making it capable of hosting up to 10,000 people with the possibility of expanding in the future.

This was one of the conclusions arrived at in the Feasibility Study of the New Convention Center of Santo Domingo, presented to the project Management Committee on July 30 in the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR).

Magaly Toribio, Deputy Secretary of SECTUR for the South Central region,  said the study was carried out by the ITB Consulting firm and presented by David Ruetz, General Director of ITB of Berlin, according to the Press and Communications Office of SECTUR.

She explained that, among the recommendations, the ITB suggested that the CCSD should be between 45,000 and 60,000 square meters in surface size making it capable of hosting up to 10,000 people with the possibility of expanding in the future.

In terms of location, the consultants recommend that the three-story building should be constructed in the area near the Port of Sans Soucí , said Ms. Toribio.

She explained that the experts noted that the location was “very strategic, where we have available land for development, access to Las Americas International Airport, many hotels along the malecon area and that is near the center of the city,” but its location does not interfere with the main traffic movement in the city.

In order to reach these conclusions, technicians from ITB Consulting did analyses of business tourism on a national and local level over the course of three visits to the country.  They also held meetings with representatives of the Management Committee, created by SECTUR and made up of various business sectors such as the Association of Hotels of Santo Domingo, the Association of Merchants of Santo Domingo and the Dominican Association of Tourism Real Estate Businesses (ADETI) as well as the Popular Bank.

An Infrastructure Necessary for Competitiveness

The study determined that the Dominican Republic can capture a significant part of the business tourism market that is currently centered in other places in the region that offer large venues for conventions and congresses, such as Cancun, Mexico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Panama, Miami Beach and Orlando Florida.

There are around 1,100 convention centers in the world, explained Ms. Toribio, but only 38 of them are located in Latin America or the Caribbean .

“They [the ITB experts] understand that this is the right moment for the Dominican Republic to take the lead in terms of hosting conventions in the Caribbean,” the region in which the DR is already the main tourist destination, pointed out Magaly Toribio.

She stressed that there is government support for this project “that we realize will bring about a total change in the city of Santo Domingo .”

Soon the second phase of the project will get underway which includes another Feasibility Study and an international contest offering the participation of potential investors in the project, said Toribio.   

Magaly Toribio, Deputy Secretary of SECTUR for the South welcoming participants of the meeting.

David Ruetz, Director General of ITB Berlin, presenting the results of the feasibility study for the Convention Center of Santo Domingo .