Tourism in 2022
Just when we all thought that the pandemic was nearing its end, we are suffering a rebound of infections with the Omicron variant. This means that the commercial reactivation of different sectors will continue to be unusual. Tourism is one of the most affected sectors and the evidence of it was in 2020 when international tourism was almost completely paralyzed, and the only alternatives were national and local tourism. While it’s true that 2021 experienced some improvements, it was subtle, as there are still restrictions and many countries keep their borders totally or partially closed. It is difficult for me to estimate where we are going in this new year since it is not known how the pandemic will evolve. However, it is possible to talk about the new tourism trends that I see emerging. - International travel with restrictions still maintained by both destinations and airlines in order to provide 100% consumer safety. - Reinforcement of COVID-19 testing; two years after the pandemic, COVID testing will remain in place as a preventative measure. - Conscious travel will be recommended. Travel to more distant destinations, but with extended stays, as consumers seek to enjoy as much as possible of each place they visit. - Green
3 trends in gastronomy that we will see in 2022
Over time we have been part of the great advances in technology. It has also happened with the gastronomic sector, and in what way! The importance that this universe of gastronomy has gained has definitely been on a large scale. In this digital age, we are living in times in which taking care of health has once again become a priority for society. The number of people who have opted for healthier nutrition is no longer surprising, and the truth is, I believe that this has been one of the best initiatives that this generation has given us. Among the gastronomic trends for the year 2022 we can highlight the following: Food to prepare at home. The confinement that the pandemic produced, added to the excessive hygiene care that we began to adopt to take care of our health, brought the restaurants home, and with this I mean it literally. The audience that arose in recipe blogs led the gastronomic sector to induce more food preparation at home, which is why the culinary world was not limited to just providing totally ready products, but to vary the dynamics and design your own products to prepare and enjoy at home. Delivery boom. Undoubtedly,
Closing of the Creative Cooking course
For two months, fifteen participants from the eastern region of the Dominican Republic had the opportunity to develop their cooking skills at the Instituto Nacional de Formación Técnico Profesional (INFOTEP) at its Gastronomy and Pastry School located in Higuey. This year I had the honor of seeing another winner for the 2nd edition of the Creative Cooking Course. An initiative that consisted of a gastronomic training workshop, designed to encourage young people to develop their culinary skills, recently selected a young man from the city of La Romana, Luiyi Antuan. This young man stood out among his peers for his commitment, excellence in attention to detail and the staging of his food. Luiyi was awarded a full scholarship to attend a workshop to perfect his culinary techniques at the Basque Culinary Center in Spain, a pioneering academic institution worldwide. Personally, I consider the BCC to be a place where the best chefs in the world pass through. It was very gratifying to hear Luyi telling me that cooking has been a part of his life since he was very young thanks to his father's food establishments, so the gastronomic talent is in his blood. The participants of the Creative Cooking workshop were selected
Contact less in hospitality, an opportunity for tech companies
The return to normal of the pre-pandemic is gaining ground and it seems that "the pandemic has changed us" is losing ground. Really? Maybe not. At least in the hospitality industry, where "contact less" seems to have an increasingly present future. A couple days ago I was reading an article in Travesías magazine about this. They referred to a survey conducted by Skift and Oracle Hospitality in which they interviewed "more than 1,800 hospitality industry leaders and over 4,000 consumers around the world to understand their preferences regarding best practices that could help the industry recover". In reference to having less and less personal contact in their activities during their stay in an establishment, the data that stood out the most was that the sum of the values of the various answers given by those consulted, 151%, related the future of the industry to the use of technologies that would allow greater independence in the management of experiences and use of spaces. In other words, doing more on their own without having to interact with an employee of the establishment. And the hotel executives surveyed seem to be clear about this, as 73% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that
Gastronomy Dominican talent at the Basque Culinary Center.
A few days ago I was talking with colleagues about the development of the culinary industry, we mentioned some outstanding chefs of now days. Today I realized that most of them had an interesting factor in common, they graduated from the Basque Culinary Center, also called by people as the international “Harvard” of culinary. This academy started on 2011 at San Sesbatián, with an investment of 17 millions euros, also supported by worldwide superstars of gastronomy like Ferran Adriá, multiple times avowed as the best chef of the world. The project has developed high level knowledge and the international scope positions the Basque Culinary Center as top school of gastronomy. Knowing this, is the foundation of my attention to the history and professional career of those chefs who graduated from the Basque Culinary Centre, as Iñigo Gordóbil, who was part of the first group of graduates at the center. Gordóbil, participates in the preparation of the great encyclopedias of the history of gastronomy, the Bullipedia (El País, 2015), launched by Ferran Adriá, who seeks to organize the origin of foods and categorize the annual contributions made around the world. Another interesting success is Carlos Rojas, also from the first promotion of the BCC.
2nd edition for Creative Gastronomy program.
I’ve always thought the young ones carry the hope for a better future and it's our duty to support them. That is why, once again I'm fully content to sponsor opportunities to a group of teenagers for gastronomy. Through the Gastronomy Workshop by INFOTEP, the students will demonstrate their will and abilities in the four weeks Creative Gastronomy program. The certification (This year for the second time) came up from a dream I had, not just to encourage the young to develop their abilities in gastronomy, but also to reward the one outstanding student of the program to experience a superior education program in a culinary school in Europe. The course is about optimizing culinary techniques at Basque Culinary Center, located in Spain. A pioneering institution worldwide taking account as associates 8 of the best Basque chefs like Martin Berasategui, Pedro Subijana, Juan Mari Arzak, Karlos Arguiñano o Andoni Aduriz. Additionally, the international committee included high level chefs like Ferrán Adriá, Michel Bras, Heston Blumenthal, Dominique Crenn, Joan Roca, Gastón Acurio o Massimo Bottura. For the first encounter, all interested should show their abilities and skills to a group of prominent judges, whom will rate their performance and innovations when making a meal.
The new age of sustainable hospitality.
Recently I read about the lessons learned from experiencing a pandemic. The devastating COVID-19 pointed out the impacts that tourism causes to the environment. After a drastic off-season of travels the planet was breathing. For a statistics view, we only have to take a look at the data from the World Tourism Organization, estimating that 5% of global carbon dioxide comes from hospitality. Knowing this, sustainability and respecting the environment is not only a trend, it is essential in all that has to be considered when developing business in tourism. That is why inversionist and leaders of the industry should go the extra mile to design new hospitality models tied to sustainability, not leaving behind comfort and luxury. I’ve been reading about the ones making it happen and the Svart stands out. Projected as the most sustainable hotel in the world. Will open doors in Norway in 2023. Svart is a 500 millions euro investment with a 7% estimated annual return to the inversionist that join the innovative concept. If you are asking yourself how sustainable will it really be, let me tell you that 85% of annual energy consumption will be saved and also will collect enough solar energy to cover
The hall of fame & the hospitality industry
Major celebrities are being drawn to investment in the luxury hotel industry. They are known to have a fabulous lifestyle, mansions, jewelry and more. All of this also brings an entrepreneur mindset to the table to shoot to winning investment fields. This is not recent news of course, we saw Robert De Niro turn co-owner of Nobu Hospitality and Nobu Restaurants, with well known chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa and movie producer Meir Teper. Also We have Leonardo Dicaprio, leading the Blackadore Caye, his own place in the Blackadore Caye located in Belize, Central America. Even though celebrities investing in the accommodation industry is not top of mind in current topics. It hasn't stopped as a trend. Few months ago I read the Dominican Today blog, focused on important projects in Miches with billions of dollars in investments. Shakira, Jay Z and Vin Diesel are some of the names found in the investment to build new exotic places in the Dominican Republic. All these investment moves are not exclusive for the Hollywood or music industry figures. Sport players are not only standing out in a hall of fame. Tennis star Rafael Nadal made a 14 millions Euros investment in two hotels in Cozumel,
Increase in delivery service due to the pandemic
Faced with the strong impact that the global economy received as a result of COVID-19, the food delivery service expanded by leaps and bounds. As its nature describes it, this resource was the only one that left its doors open for bars and restaurants to quickly mobilize towards their customers and continue to operate. Despite the fact that many countries did not show interest in delivery applications, in 2020 there were increases in the furthest behind. María Bertorch , an expert in the food service industry at NPD Group, an American market research company, exposes the Anglo-Saxon countries as the protagonists of this change. " In France, only 6% of" orders were placed on delivery "in 2020, compared to 3% in 2019. In Great Britain, this proportion was 17% last year, compared to 9% in 2019" . Similarly, in a survey carried out by Deliveroo, a Delivery app in Spain, I read about how 40% of the businesses associated with the platform assured that they would have been forced to close in the next six months if it were not for the implementation of delivery to their business model, that is, today they had their doors closed. Now, you have to take into
Young Dominican gastronomic talent begins specialization at a top Spanish culinary school
Elvis Hidalgo is taking a five-week workshop to perfect his culinary techniques at the prestigious Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastian after having been the best performing student in the Diploma of Creative Cuisine, an initiative of businessman Danilo Diazgranados, taught by the INFOTEP School of Hotel Management, Gastronomy and Pastry. Santo Domingo, June 2021 - After Elvis Hidalgo postponed his studies at the Basque Culinary Center in Spain due to the pandemic, today the 25 year-old student from San Francisco de Macorís is fulfilling his dream and attending classes at one of the most outstanding gastronomy schools in Europe. Elvis has been attending the Culinary Techniques Improvement Training Program at the center based in San Sebastian-Donostia, in the Basque Country. It is a pioneering academic institution worldwide whose board of trustees includes eight of the best Basque chefs, such as Martin Berasategui, Pedro Subijana, Juan Mari Arzak, Karlos Arguiñano and Andoni Aduriz. Its International Council also includes chefs of the stature of Ferrán Adriá, Michel Bras, Heston Blumenthal, Dominique Crenn, Joan Roca, Gastón Acurio and Massimo Bottura. For five weeks, the young Franco-Macorisian will have the opportunity to consolidate his knowledge and acquire new skills in the preparation and presentation of dishes.