The Dominican Republic’s tourism sector has been posting consistent expansion, driven by growing industry competitiveness and ongoing efforts to diversify its travel offerings. But this upward trajectory is not without headwinds, and public officials and private industry leaders have converged on a clear conclusion: strategic territorial land-use planning will stand as the sector’s most pressing regulatory challenge over the coming 10 years.
Speaking on the shared assessment, Vice Minister of Tourism Jacqueline Mora emphasized that the long-term trajectory of Dominican tourism hinges on the country’s ability to map out territorial growth strategically, tailoring plans to the unique environmental, cultural and market characteristics of each individual travel destination.
Mora explained that the global tourism industry has undergone a fundamental structural shift, moving away from a hotel-centric model to one where the destination’s natural territory and authentic visitor experience have become the primary draw for modern travelers. Hotel infrastructure, she noted, now plays a secondary complementary role rather than leading the appeal of a destination.
“Tourism is evolving right alongside shifting global demographics and changing traveler expectations, who are actively searching for unique, differentiated experiences today,” Mora added. “The destination and its territory are now the main attraction, far beyond the hotel itself. The unique attributes of each location are reshaping tourism into something radically different from what it was decades ago.”
Beyond the core task of spatial planning, Mora outlined two interconnected challenges tied to land-use regulation: strengthening legal certainty for tourism investors and updating the country’s existing tourism incentive legislation. Current policies, she noted, may need targeted adjustments to align with new territorial land-use frameworks and ensure development aligns with the specific needs of each region.
“There are other closely linked challenges tied to territorial regulation, most notably guaranteeing legal security for tourism investors,” Mora explained. “Our current tourism incentive law will likely require a full review to align it with new territorial planning policies, which are built around the unique natural characteristics and diversity of each Dominican territory.”
For his part, Andrés Marranzini, president of the Dominican Association of Tourism and Real Estate Companies (Adeti), echoed the focus on land-use planning, noting that during legislative negotiations over the new law, the private tourism sector pushed to formalize tourism territorial planning as a standalone regulatory category.
Marranzini pointed to a key gap the sector has identified: the new land-use law positions local municipal governments as the lead decision-makers for territorial development, and requires that local municipal bodies have the technical capacity to match the demands of the new regulatory framework. This requirement, he argued, poses a significant risk for the tourism industry, given the current capacity constraints in many popular destination municipalities.
Marranzini stressed that even though tourism destinations are rooted in local communities, their economic impact resonates across the entire country, per reporting from local outlet Diario Libre. For that reason, he said, long-term development decisions for these zones must be guided by national-level technical expertise and long-range strategic planning, rather than purely local governance.
“The core challenge that new territorial planning legislation poses, both for developers building new projects and stewards looking after existing destinations, is whether local municipalities have the technical capacity to implement a regulatory framework that requires thinking beyond immediate needs and planning for decades ahead,” Marranzini added.
Despite the varied challenges laid out, both public sector and private industry leaders agreed that getting territorial land-use planning right will be a make-or-break factor for locking in consistent, sustainable growth for Dominican tourism over the next decade.