The global hospitality firm Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to roll out a landmark strategic initiative aimed at revolutionizing the tourism sector in the Dominican Republic. The collaboration centers on building tourism value chains that are not only more environmentally sustainable, but also socially inclusive and economically resilient, with three core focus areas: advancing environmental accountability, boosting climate preparedness, and expanding opportunities for local suppliers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) embedded in the country’s tourism economy.
The formal agreement was signed by Alejandro Francisco Ferrer Alcalde, representing Iberostar, and Ana María Díaz, UNDP’s lead representative in the region. Under the terms of the partnership, the two organizations will roll out a suite of targeted projects addressing key gaps in the Dominican tourism sector. These include efforts to cut carbon emissions across the entire tourism supply chain, upskill local suppliers to meet global sustainability standards, promote responsible production and consumption habits among both businesses and travelers, and upgrade systems for climate risk assessment and operational resilience across tourist destinations.
A key innovation of the alliance is its commitment to breaking down silos between key stakeholders, creating structured platforms for dialogue and joint action across the private sector, academic institutions, national and local financial bodies, and government agencies. This multi-stakeholder approach is designed to align efforts around shared sustainability priorities, which range from large-scale greenhouse gas emissions reductions and expanding access to sustainable finance for small businesses, to updating national environmental and social governance standards for tourism and delivering hands-on training programs for local entrepreneurs.
In remarks following the signing, Ana María Díaz underscored that cross-sector collaboration between private enterprise and multilateral organizations is one of the most powerful drivers of large-scale sustainable transformation. For his part, Alejandro Francisco Ferrer Alcalde confirmed that the new alliance aligns seamlessly with Iberostar’s global flagship responsible tourism strategy, the Wave of Change initiative. He emphasized that Iberostar has maintained deep, longstanding roots in the Dominican Republic, and that the partnership reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to the country’s long-term growth, with a goal of building a more robust, competitive tourism ecosystem that delivers shared benefits to local communities through collaborative, impact-focused action.
Looking ahead, the alliance has outlined a range of additional activities to embed sustainable practices across the sector. These include hosting multi-stakeholder forums, running public awareness campaigns to highlight the importance of sustainable tourism, and publishing research and guidance focused on sustainability, sector competitiveness, and climate risk management. All of these activities tie back to the partnership’s broader overarching goal: supporting inclusive human and economic development across the Dominican Republic.