Sustainability innovator Jake Kheel said the country was able to quickly set up safety standards during the lockdown period through the implementation of social distancing, the use of masks and the establishment of vaccination centres.
“There was a real direct coordination between the private sector and the government in some of the decisions made,” he said on the latest episode of FMT’s talk show, Stakeholders, with Shireen.
“The key is moving quickly, not being afraid to make decisions and working to make sure that there is a coordinated response that can be communicated effectively to the public and give visitors confidence about what is happening on the ground,“ he added.
Kheel is vice-president of sustainability at a foundation set up by tourism operator Grupo Puntacana to improve the well-being of the people and the environment in the Dominican Republic.
He added that the country opened itself to tourists as soon as it realised the negative impacts a closed border would bring to its local communities.
Their strategy clearly worked as the Dominican Republic was named the best-performing nation in the post-pandemic world for 2022 and 2023.
According to the nation’s tourism minister David Collado, the country welcomed 8.5 million visitors in 2022 – 3.2 million more than the previous year. The tourism industry accounts for 15% of the Dominican Republic’s GDP.
Invite locals to participate
Asked by host Shireen Muhiudeen how Malaysia could get its citizens involved in sustainability, Kheel said the best way to do so was to hold regular dialogues with local communities and invite them to participate in the country’s tourism industry.
He said Grupo Puntacana realised that if they wanted to protect the coral reefs in the ocean that are threatened by overfishing, they must work with local artisanal fishers to garner their concerns.
“It is to find alternative livelihoods for fishers, to include them in our coral reef restoration work, to train them as divers, to involve their family members in different kinds of artisanal crafts and new businesses.
“At the end of the day, it is much easier to involve them, empower them, get them engaged in the tourism economy and conservation projects than it is to try and patrol them, send boats after them, (and) limit their fishing,” said Kheel.
He recalled working with a spearfisher who gave up his line of work to provide services that benefit the fishing industry, including restoration work for coral reefs, after receiving help from Kheel’s foundation.
The Grupo Puntacana Foundation has led several sustainable development initiatives in the eastern region of the Dominican Republic.
Its mission is to protect and preserve the natural resources of the Punta Cana region while creating employment opportunities for the area’s inhabitants.