Dominican tourism clusters: pillars of development

Abstract

The touristic clusters’ function is grouping the different players within a destination with the aim of jointly outlining the vision, path and action plan to enhance their competitiveness. Since 2003, in the Dominican Republic ten touristic clusters have formed, which boast several accomplishments: the creation of commercial capacity, joint ventures in public-private alliances, the establishment of themselves as legal Non-Governmental Organizations, the diversification of touristic products, the promotion of differential cultural aspects, and environmental conservation activities. Associativism highlights as the most important: organizations cannot compete by themselves. They need the support of their employees, the educational system, the communities, and the government. The Dominican touristic clusters have reached a high level of local empowerment, and together with the Dominican Consortium for Tourism Competitiveness, which is the umbrella cluster, their continuity is guaranteed.