Preclearance from a tourism point of view

I have read a lot about the preclearance issue and peoples´ legal and political interpretations of it, but very little has been said about the economic contributions that such a decision would entail as a means of boosting the expansion of tourism. Sometimes, for inexplicable reasons, we focus on sterile discussions, even though law, reason, and logic advise otherwise, as does economics. 

In my more than 25 years as an active role player in the country´s tourism industry, and indeed throughout the Caribbean, I have had to listen to arguments such as "tourism is fragile", who knows what they mean by that. 

Another one is that "all-inclusives are like enclaves", when the first one who wants to see the tourist leave the hotel is the hotelier, so long as it´s safe and healthy to do so, conditions that are mostly up to the State to provide. In the last year, tourism has proved that, far from being fragile, it is a vibrant industry that benefits the whole country. 

I join the current government’s wish to reach the historic figure of 10 billion dollars in revenue from the tourism industry, as I also supported the previous government when reaching 10 million tourists by 2023 was proposed as a national goal. 

Both goals will come together. I have used preclearance in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, and Nassau, Bahamas, and the truth is that it is an extraordinary facility, especially if you have connecting flights within the US, since you enter North American territory with customs and immigration clearance already taken care of. It´s as if it were a domestic flight. 

The fact that the country can introduce preclearance at Punta Cana International Airport (AIPC) is a big step. It will allow the necessary procedural and service paperwork to be dealt with from the country´s busiest airport in terms of numbers of US passengers, and, in the process, it would create the opportunity to extend preferential treatment to other airports. 

We should start with the fact that, in 2021, AIPC received 1,258,477 tourists from the US (including Puerto Rico). In other words, 34.4% of the total number of incoming foreign tourists arrived from the United States through that terminal and to that destination.  

What are the economic benefits the country can expect from the Preclearance Agreement with the United States?  

On February 3, the Airports Council International (ACI) based in Washington, DC, published a study on the economic value of US Preclearance. The study shows "how (preclearance) improves the traveler’s experience" and "creates new opportunities for airports." This results in "an improvement in economic growth and investment in the regions where it has been implemented." 

By improving air service based on greater itinerary flexibility, connectivity with US cities that were not previously served increases extraordinarily. I believe the country has shown unity and discipline in the management of the COVID-19 health crisis and that tourism, free zones and remittances have allowed to boost the recovery of other sectors of the economy. 

Now is the time for us to step forward if we want to reach the desired national goals. Two of these steps must be preclearance and create the right conditions so that tourists can circulate safely throughout the entire country, which will only be possible by complying with the signed Agreement and our own laws. 

As we have already shown, where there´s a will there´s a way.

Enrique de Marchena
DMK Abogados