The Dominican Republic has just played host to the IV Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Tourism Pastoral Care — and for the first time in the event's history, it landed on Dominican soil. The Ministry of Tourism (Mitur), working alongside the Dominican Episcopal Conference, welcomed around 40 international delegates to a congress running under the theme of building an "ordinary and organic" tourism pastoral care, essentially a push to weave the Catholic Church's role more naturally into the country's tourism sector.
What made this edition different was its format. Rather than sitting in one conference hall, delegates travelled a circuit through several dioceses — Puerto Plata, La Vega, La Altagracia and Stella Maris — plus the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo. That route doubles as a showcase of the country's religious, historical and cultural heritage, from the colonial churches of the capital to the pilgrimage sites of La Altagracia, home to the Basilica of Higüey and the island's most revered Marian shrine.
One of the more unexpected threads at the congress was artificial intelligence. José Armando Tavares, former rector and founder of the Technological Institute of the Americas (ITLA), spoke on AI's growing impact on tourism and the ethical questions that come with it. His argument: technology can improve the traveller's experience, but it shouldn't replace human attention or shut out visitors who struggle with digital tools. He pushed for tourism that stays accessible, sustainable and people-centred — a note that fits neatly with religious travel, where pilgrims of all ages and backgrounds turn up at the same shrines.
The congress also gave a platform to Paths of Faith, a religious tourism programme Mitur has developed jointly with the Catholic Church and the Dominican Episcopal Conference. The momentum doesn't stop there: the 4th Religious Tourism Meeting is set for October 24 as part of the Caribbean Tourism Exchange, part of a broader effort to deepen ties between the tourism and religious sectors and diversify what the Dominican Republic offers beyond its beaches.
For travellers, this matters because it signals new reasons to visit beyond Punta Cana's resorts. The Dominican Republic is one of the oldest Catholic outposts in the Americas — Santo Domingo's cathedral, the Catedral Primada de América, dates to the 1540s and is the oldest in the New World. As the church and tourism ministry formalise their partnership, expect better-marked pilgrimage routes, church-led heritage experiences and itineraries through the island's interior and north coast that most visitors currently skip. If your idea of a Caribbean trip includes history, colonial architecture and living religious tradition rather than just a sun lounger, the Paths of Faith programme is worth tracking as it develops.
Story via Dominican Today.
