“The business model in the Caribbean hotel sector is increasingly diverse. Before, they were large family hotel companies with tradition and experience in tourism with hotels 100% owned and operated by themselves. Now we are seeing non-hotel investors emerging who make management and operation agreements with tour operators or large international brands.
Furthermore, we have been seeing how there are a large number of Dominican investors introducing their capital into this sector,” he stated in an interview with .com Juan Manuel Martín de Olivavice president of the tourism area of the Dominican Popular Bank.
Martín de Oliva, who will receive within the framework of Fitur 2024 the award .com for his career in the Dominican tourism sector and his great contributions from the position he holds in the BPD, the main private bank in the financing of tourism projects, he revealed to this digital fundamental aspects about the development of the DR tourism industry and the future promising of this sector.
What do you feel most satisfied with in your career, and who would you highlight as your main references at this time?
My main satisfaction is that together with the rest of the team we have been able to position Banco Popular as the undisputed leader in service to the tourism sector. Being called and recognized as “the tourism bank” apart from being a source of pride, is a responsibility that drives us to try to improve ourselves every day.
Having obtained recognition from various institutions in the sector such as Asonahores, various Tourism Clusters, the Ministry of Tourism and the UNWTO, among others, are reviews that motivate us even more to support this important and transcendent sector for the country's economy.
The main references are without a doubt my colleagues at Banco Popular from whom I learn every day, the executives of the first-line bank who with their example support the initiatives that as a tourism team we propose and of course as a guide I have the thousands of families who they live in this sector and show their pride in every visit I make to the different companies in the sector.
What have been the biggest difficulties you have had to overcome to create a tourism banking division of its current weight?
More than difficulties I would talk about challenges, because at Banco Popular we have always been innovating. Since we created the first vice presidency of the tourism sector of a bank, maintaining ourselves as leaders in financing and service to the sector, and many more initiatives of which we have been pioneers, means going through necessary challenges to be able to grow.
Fortunately, our clients have been very generous with us and have given us support for all these initiatives, which in the end is what is important because they are our reason for being.
Where do you see the most progress among the Dominican destinations to stand out as those with the greatest growth in new hotels?
“Dominican Republic Has It All” is a reality, so fortunately we have a lot of travel in large areas to explore, and not just beach, we have travel in health tourism, in the mountains and adventures, among others.
But without a doubt we are seeing areas that are growing such as Miches, Bergantín, Pedernales, etc… However, when it comes to expansion I not only see it as an increase in beds, but also as an increase in quality and thus we have areas such as Bávaro, Punta Cana, Uvero Alto that have a large number of hotels in continuous efforts by investors to adapt to the increasingly higher quality that tourists demand.
And where do you appreciate it among the rest of the main destinations in the Caribbean, and why?
I really don't like comparisons, since each destination has its strengths. But it is indisputable that in the Dominican Republic we have been able to create an optimal environment, since what tourists are looking for is stability and security.
In our country there is social, political, economic, and exchange stability and the tourist feels safe. This fact means that demand is increasing, which in turn encourages investors to make sustainable and long-term investments that in turn help with this stability.
All of this generates a virtuous circle that helps our growth to be constant and exponential.
What are the main variables that you value most when financing a tourism project with greater or lesser emphasis?
Here I return to the topic of the team, at Banco Popular we support each other to bring our clients' hopes and dreams to fruition.
We have a Credit Analysis area that perfectly understands the tourism sector and we do not limit ourselves to just approving or declining, we pride ourselves on advising clients also through our Investment Banking Area.
When we evaluate a project, the client's experience is very important, having a clear business plan to be able to adapt to each one.
Each transaction is different from the last and will be different from the next. And of course we support those who believe in their project, assuming their share of the risk.
To what do you attribute the fact that Spaniards have been the main investors in the region despite the challenge of an ocean in between?
The Spanish people have always been an emigrant and hard-working people with a vision of exploring new worlds and that is in their blood.
And within the Spanish people, if we review the past, practically everyone was Mallorcan, and they already came with a great experience of what tourism is.
At Banco Popular we have been supporting tourism for more than three decades and specifically 25 years ago we already anticipated the importance of this sector in the country's economy.
As a result of this vision, 25 years ago an agreement was signed with a Spanish bank with deep roots in Mallorca to bring the best practices of how to serve these Spanish investors and demonstrate to them that we were capable of providing service and attention in line with their needs.
The result of that agreement is that I came to join this great family like Popular.
What do you think should be the keys to a hotel product that will be more successful than others in the future?
Without a doubt, one that demonstrates sensitivity to sustainability and takes care of the environment, involving nearby communities in the hotel's business success.
The young and current client is increasingly looking for integration in the destination with experiences that bring them closer to the communities to take home a memory of experiences that last in their memory.
Fortunately in the Dominican Republic we have a large number of hoteliers who have had this philosophy for a long time and are very busy developing and preserving this model.
What changes in the financial situation do you think will further facilitate the increase in investment with loans with lower interest?
The monetary authorities of our country are giving unquestionable support to investment that allows financial entities to serve our clients in the best conditions.
The Government through tax incentives also supports this growth.
From what I understand that by continuing on this path, we can transmit to the client not only an adequate interest but also conditions and structures that are very in line with what their business plan requires.
An example of this is the very important growth that financing to the tourism sector has had by the Dominican banks where at Banco Popular we continue to be pioneers with financing close to 39% of the total portfolio allocated to this sector in the country.
On what virtues would you focus the contribution of banking tourism divisions as key to promoting tourism projects?
I understand that in the knowledge of the sector.
Having an Area like ours where we not only dedicate ourselves to giving loans or managing clients' resources, but we participate as members of the Hotel Association, the Clusters, and other associations linked to tourism gives us experience and knowledge.
which allows us to give much more value to our relationship with investors.
Do you consider that Spanish banks have given as much quota and priority to hotel financing as entities like yours do?
I have the impression that yes, the Spanish bank knows the tourism sector very well and in fact at Banco Popular we have made syndicates with Spanish entities with great success.
Large hotel companies require a large amount of capital to be able to develop their investments and having banks like ours allows them to use the resources of their Spanish banks to build hotels in those countries where financing could be more complicated than in the Dominican Republic. and that is where we come in to complement your needs.
What would be the ideas that in your opinion would have the greatest impact when it comes to improving the complementary offer of destinations?
The infrastructures in the different destinations are key to the development of the complementary offer.
We have experienced it in the East with the Coral highway and it is being experienced in Puerto Plata with the cruise ports.
The contribution of Banco Popular and the rest of the system's banks to small and medium-sized businesses is also key to the growth of this complementary offer.
Therefore, I encourage you to continue this policy of growth of large infrastructures that generates the appropriate and orderly environment for this development.
What is the horizon that you predict for the successions of the main family vacation chains?
Promising and excellent without a doubt. 100% of the examples that we are seeing on all the chains predict this.
Furthermore, as they are large but family chains, we see how the new generations have been involved in the business from a very young age, as they have experienced it in their homes.
If there is a common denominator among hoteliers, it is passion and they took that characteristic home and passed it on from generation to generation.
We are seeing generational changes that do not need a period of maturation to know the business, but rather are a continuity of it, also in most cases with the support and baton of those first generations of fighting, persevering, passionate men and women.
and visionaries who have generated a caste of hoteliers who are undoubtedly proud of their descendants.
How would you quantify the value of the specialized press in defending the sector and enhancing its voice?
I like to end with this question because it allows me to leave in the reader's memory the importance and relevance of the press in the success of tourism in our country.
The tourist press has been, is and will continue to be a necessary and essential travel companion, as it makes known the successes and reminds us of what is not so good, allowing us to correct along the way.
But what it is undoubtedly a protagonist and indisputable ally of the growth of tourism and can feel very proud that with its invaluable help the Dominican Republic is today at the summit of tourism worldwide.