Dominican President Luis Abinader said he is convinced the Punta Bergantín tourism project will help relaunch hotel tourism in Puerto Plata and along the entire north coast of the country.
Speaking during a broadcast of La Agenda Semanal from Santiago, Abinader said Punta Bergantín was the answer to relaunching the north coast, and noted that the project includes four hotels run by North American and other international brands.
He said the presence of well-known international brands would strengthen the promotion of the destination, adding that the marketing reach of those hotel chains would help project the north coast once again as one of the Dominican Republic's leading tourist destinations.
Abinader also stressed that Punta Bergantín carries weight as a public policy project while doubling as a business opportunity for Banco de Reservas, the state-owned bank known as Banreservas. Because of that, he said, the project does not represent a burden for taxpayers.
Puerto Plata, on the Dominican Republic's north coast, was historically one of the country's most prominent beach destinations. Abinader, who has served as president of the Dominican Republic since 2020, has repeatedly pointed to the province as a priority for tourism development.
Progress on the project
Banreservas' executive president, Leonardo Aguilera, described Punta Bergantín as "the New North," an initiative designed to recover Puerto Plata's former standing as one of the country's leading tourism hubs.
Aguilera said the project already shows progress in both its hotel and real estate offerings. He said construction broke ground last year on a hotel from a recognized international brand with 450 rooms.
He added that the first groundbreaking for a second hotel, also backed by foreign investment, is planned for the beginning of December this year, while construction of a third hotel, with 500 rooms and another international brand, is expected to begin in March 2027.
Real estate sales
Aguilera also highlighted the project's real estate component, pointing to the involvement of Santiago businessman Pantaleón Salcedo, one of the development's promoters, whose 180-apartment project has already sold 120 units.
He said 263 lots have been sold within Punta Bergantín, and that a recent meeting with business figures from Santiago produced sales worth more than 40 million dollars.
Aguilera recalled that the initiative began taking shape during Abinader's first term in office, when the president identified the need to recover the land and dedicate it to tourism development. He said Punta Bergantín was that dream already turned into reality.
A public-private partnership
Aguilera said Banreservas is acting as the "spearhead" of the project alongside the private sector, under a public-private partnership model aimed at driving tourism and economic development along the north coast.
