Minister Denise Charles highlights Dominica’s tourism achievements

Roseau, Dominica: Denise Charles, Minister for Tourism, International Transport and Maritime Initiatives, counted the accomplishment of the Commonwealth of Dominica and highlighted that the achievements of the country in the tourism sector.

She mentioned that “I know it’s a great time for Dominica. We have been highlighted by Times Magazine, CNN, Forbes, Lonely Planet, Travel and Leisure.”

She spoke about it during the ‘Focus on Government and Development’ – programme by DBS Radio. The major focus of the programme was related to tourism matters.

Minister Denise Charles commenced her address by informing the general public about the Mother’s Day 2023 activities and outlined that “everyone had a fantastic time”. She furthermore highlighted the fact that the government, along with the regional authority, contributes towards the upliftment and advancement of the constituencies.

While emphasising the Soufriere constituency, Minister noted that the Ministry of Public Works and the Public Works Corporation resurfaced the multipurpose court in the constituency, and I know the public is very excited.

Denise Charles further highlighted the government aspects towards tourism in the nation. “We can agree that you are overseeing a very busy period in the tourism sector. We are witnessing many game gains in terms of our marketing, and there’s increased visibility for the island. So let’s start by talking about what you think as the Minister is accounting for that high level of visibility, we’ve been experiencing in the sector,” she emphasised.

Tourism Minister further stated that in 2023, Dominica has in the first quarter of twenty twenty-three. And the ministry must outline that leadership is everything, and the development of the tourism industry started several years ago under the Dominica Labour Party administration.

She also highlighted that all the developments in the sector are possible through the funds generated from the citizenship by the investment programme of Dominica. She was quoted saying, “Re-engineering of the citizenship by investment programme, there was a huge focus on hotel accommodation development, and for the first time in our life, in 2019, we had the first luxury resort.”

Charles further outlined, “Then we know that Jungle Bay was destroyed by Hurricane Erica, and they rebuilt a beautiful facility, a beautiful five-star resort in Soufriere constituency. So, all of these things contribute to increased arrivals in Dominica because people have more offerings and many visitors. Even if they enjoy being in nature when they go to bed, they want to sleep in luxury. So having the addition of a luxury accommodation has done well for us.”

Minister Denise Charles also mentioned Secret Bay. “You also have the infrastructure upgrades to our roads that are easier to access places to go and move around the country,” she stated.

Along with this, she mentioned the boost in tourism post-COVID-19 pandemic. “I would like to tell everyone that also COVID made many travellers more of the environment and recognise the importance of nature. And so for us in the ministry of tourism, what we did, we focus on re-imagining the industry,” Tourism Minister noted.

Through the address, she also emphasised the activities offered in the country. “We have aqua, we have an adventure, we have health and wellness, we have agro-tourism, we have festivals, events and festivals, and recently we added Kalinago, and we are working on the romance pillar,” she mentioned.