Santo Domingo.- The hotel industry often hires foreign workers, especially during the early stages of construction and operation. According to the National Migration Institute’s 2021 report, out of the 19,245 foreigners employed in this sector, 12,227 were in informal roles, making up 63.5% of the sector’s workforce that year. The recent report from the National Institute of Migration titled “Labor Market and Foreign Labor in the Tourism Sector of the Dominican Republic” emphasizes the current problems caused by the irregular immigration status of tax-evading employees and employers.
Between 2016 and 2019, the number of foreigners in formal jobs increased almost fivefold, from 1,971 to 9,054. However, the closure of hotel activity in 2020 led to a slowdown. By 2021, 7,018 people were employed in the tourism sector, including 3,650 Venezuelans and 3,377 Haitians. Informal employment remains high, with 9,924 Haitian employees (56.6%) and 4,640 Venezuelans (37.9%), along with 5.4% of other nationalities (664 people).
Haitian immigrants play a significant role in the sector, particularly in development projects in Punta Cana and Bávaro. As of March 2022, 2,544 foreigners (7.8% of workers) in the Hotels, Bars, and Restaurants subsector registered with the Social Security Treasury. This number represents only 1.62% of the total immigrants in the system (157,049 in that month).
The majority of migrant workers in the sector are aged between 24 and 39, with men predominantly in job positions and women self-employed. Non-technical roles such as cooks, waiters, and customer service staff are often filled by employees of smaller establishments. Medium and large hotels hire administrative positions like chefs and technicians, supplemented by foreign workers in roles such as waiters, cooks, and receptionists.
The report highlights that outsourcing complicates the determination of obligations and the defense of workers’ rights, especially in informal jobs. This precarious labor situation exposes migrants to vulnerabilities, including regularization costs, segmented employment, and discrimination.
The National Institute of Migration recommends several steps to address these challenges:
– Conduct a study to determine employment needs regardless of nationality.
– Develop public policies to regularize foreign workers with Social Security.
– Consolidate and improve the databases of the relevant ministries to quantify labor migration.
– Enhance services in areas where sector employees reside and foster the development of human capital for both foreigners and locals.
– Foster dialogue between institutions to assess labor needs and perform sociodemographic analyses of the tourism workforce.
Both employers and workers have their own needs. The tourism sector seeks foreign employees who are fluent in multiple languages and possess specialized skills, while immigrants aim to obtain regular immigration status to secure formal contracts and improve their quality of life. Haitians aspire to freelance work, Venezuelans seek skills improvement, and individuals of other nationalities strive to advance their careers.