The stark contrast: A run down shanty in paradise, Laguna Gri-Gri.
SANTO DOMINGO.- The Dominican tourism industry’s expansion is based only on a model which shows gradual signs of decay, says the document “Productive Transformation: 20 years later. Old problems, new opportunities,” conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (Cepal).
The study, which agrees with another done by the United Nations Program for Development (UNPD), found that tourism centers only hotel construction, as the number of rooms has jumped almost 12 times between 1980 and 2006, from 5,300 to 63,000.
The PNUD said the fact that only large operators control both hotel operations and charter flights is cause for concern.
It notes that although tourism is still an opportunity for the country’s development, it needs to renew to avert the loss of yield and its failure, which it said could lead to heightened social and environmental tensions.
The international entity said tourism should change to create more added value per tourist without increasing their number, suggesting more cooperation between the public and private sectors to attain it.
It also suggests diversifying the touris offer; more and diversified operators from different countries, more environmental protection, and to refer to the region’s multiple examples to motivate the development of new niches.
The UNPD said to boost tourism’s involvement with the rest of the economy, the contry needs to promote the connections between local producers and operators.
It said although many hotels have adopted the “all inclusive” system, it isolates the local communities to a great extent, becasue their sun, sea and beach concept concentrates tourism in the country’s coast.
It questions that after a period of accelerated growth (1980 to 19997), tourism lost dynamism, confirmed by indicators such as the number of visitors, the average lodging duration, currencies generated and the hotel occupancy rate.
In the Cepal study says among others factors which have contributed to the decay of the tourism model are the lack of development plans in bordering communities, the environmental deterioration in tourist destinations, lower citizen security, little cultural offer, and more competition.
Written by: BLANCO, 11 Jun 2008 10:45 AM
From: Dominican Republic
forget the article what the hell is this picture all about? palo verde after hurricane olga?
Written by: bernies, 11 Jun 2008 11:14 AM
From: United States, falls church va
that is all correct ...they also should get rid of those tours guides the are on the colonial city area they are a bunch of ladrones whom are taking the money away from the locals by only taking the tourist to where they get paid a 10% commision on the sells for the tourists they bring in to the stores along with what the tourists gives them. very very bad for the country econimic and only good for some investors and not for all. They country also need to do better in cleaning the tourist area by starting clean up at 6 am and not at 9am, that is when the tourists are out on the street. get rid of street people or homeless as well. tourists don't want to see garbage or beggars when they go out.
From: United States
The Tourist mentality. What does a tourist expects to see in New York ( Times Squares/Manhattan ) ? Is different from what it wants and expects to see in D.R. The expectations are predetermine by stories and from what they had seen in pictures. A third world country and underdeveloped with a population that is inferior to their thinking. They also expects more for their money while staying in a kind of luxury that most natives are not able to affort. Is like when a tourist goes to a jungle on a safary, his or her expectations are determine by all of the informations which they had been given minus the experience. Take all that away and what they will get is just sitting or laying in the sun which they can do any place. So tourist want to see how poor people live, they want to see their miseries at a distant and be able to go back home with some stories. The U.N. is the worse organization that has been organized in this planet. Doing so called studies to downgrade/critized --------
From: United States
continued ---- the U.N. is part of the problems and not part of the solution. Tourist, yes they should be taken to all of the tourists attractiions and given another impressions and not the one that has been implanted upon them. What do men say --- " I want to go to D.R., there are some nice women there ". The way that these words are expressed is in the formed that implies that dominican womens are easy to get and are cheap as well as whores and prostitute. The study does not concerned itself with the real realities of the human conditons instead concerns itself more with the environment. It does this cause envirnment is in fashion and ignores the real problems that are cause by tourism and how the wealth gain from tourism is not distributed back to the country. Though some projects are direct causes of the tourist industry.
Written by: BASTA, 12 Jun 2008 6:06 AM
From: Dominican Republic, SPM
Now, Cuba has great beaches and finer women.
From: Dominican Republic, Cabrera, M.T.S.
"population that is inferior to their thinking" - Not inferior, just different. In many ways the Dominican way of life is superior; e.g. in my town, for example, many people still share meals with their neighbors. In other words, everyday neighbors send a "plato de comida" to their immediate neighbors. So, not superior or inferior, just different.
We just have to be careful w/ the way we say things, b/c the "private" is political. Racist, sexist, ageist jokes all go to support discrimination and oppression. Claiming the Dominican public has an "inferior" thinking, is a culturally-biased statement that justifies the "tutelage" of the DR by core countries, multinational corportations, and their institutions (UN, WB, IMF, IDB, WTO).
It's not that we can't learn from external criticism, but it should be considered on equal footing as local mentality in the hope that a higher understanding can be achieved.
Anyway, this was not the point of the article, so feel free to ignore.
From: United States
Baldoria
The question i have for you, is how do you feel about DR's tourism? Do you think the opening of cuba, will take away DR's appeal. Cuba is a country with fine beaches, and attains a culture that seems to gain the interest of foreigners. What is exactly wrong with the dominican culture that causes people to think dominicans are inferior. What would you recommend the dominican government to do in regards to improving the image of dominicans?
From: United States
anonymous, please bear with me for responding to a question you addressed to Baldoria. without question, Cuba will be a massive threat if it became open to US tourists. the main reason is that most of them have not seen it yet. it is the centerpiece of a lot of historical issues, such as the cold war, it has extremely sophisticated cultural offerings, it has a highly disciplined workforce and general population, and, in general, is a wonderful place to see. i said it before, and i will say it again. the so-called investment in tourism here focuses entirely upon room construction. we are getting to the point of excess capacity, while the product has stagnated. i have a friend who went to Bavaro, and he said that the hotel was exquisite, but there was nothing to do there. no entertainment to speak of, and really nothing to do after you have had a nice meal. the triumphalists who brag about how magnificent these structures are have to realise tha tourists are coming from countries
From: United States
with far more exhorbitant sights. if you have not been to Las Vegas, you might think that Punta Cana is the last word in tourism, but one must realise that many tourists have been there, so they are not easily impressed. add to that the fact that there are one million and one things to do in Vegas, and you will understand why it works. i repeat...RESOURCE COMPLACENCY. we have nice beaches and great weather, but so does everyone else within the same latitudes. we are like a beautiful girl who believes she does not have to have a nice personality because her looks will take her everywhere.
From: United States Virgin Islands, St Thomas Mahogany Run
any rural area where hotels are built on any Caribbean island are for beaches and warm sun not opera or the ballet that said....criticism of all inclusives is everyones favorite sport including mine....The DR is moving away from this with chains like Banyan tree and Ritz and Four seasons etc etc plus golf residences and the people who are involved with these things went to the ballet and the opera before they arrived here in their 550 a nite room ....folkloric things and history are as prominent here as they are in Cuba and here at least the locals are allowed to talk to you
From: Dominican Republic, Cabrera, M.T.S.
I wanna go to CUba, just to see how a different reality works. It's not all about private gains, but also of building and maintaining community!
I agree with Drealock's response above. And I disagree that the U.S. is a Uni-"product" destination. The DR is a rich culture with many many many things to offer - in natural resources (beaches, mountain, deserts, lakes, rivers, caves, forests, & mines!) and culture as well. I can't think of anything more exciting in the world than Carnaval! Our artists (music, painters, & sculturers) are second to none. What we need to do is market and package these components of our culture better. We should create booths or a weekend market where artists can sell their paintings and other creations - e.g. Argentina; or booths where booksellers can sell books- e.g. paris.
All we need is effective investment in the PUBLIC SPHERE! projects that are designed in collaboration with local partners, not just in the presidential palace.
From: United States Virgin Islands, St Thomas Mahogany Run
Baldy the DR has nothing to be ashamed of as far as its offerings are concerned in the tourist arena...They are diverse and interesting...I know the english speaking Caribbean up and down and that is pretty much the same old " Yellow Bird " and " Steel Pan " and " Limbo" cheeseball experience it has been for the last 40 years,and is as old as Harry Belafonte.....No my friend the Spanish Antilles is the future of tourism in the Caribbean ...It has a friendly more interesting face and much better music....LETS DANCE
Written by: Jander, 12 Jun 2008 5:44 PM
From: Dominican Republic
GC you know it,
Grumpy West Indians with a chip on their shoulder , small portions and watered down booze.
All for a premium price!
And besides I wouldn't listen to anything the UN has to say about anything anymore they can'[t ven organize themselves anymore.
From: United States Virgin Islands, St Thomas Mahogany Run
Jander my good and great friend you got it right......No more " WE BAN HERE " for me....
From: Dominican Republic, Cabrera, M.T.S.
No the UN can shed some light on some of our existing problems. So lets not discard the UN. Just take the UN's point of view on equal footing as the local one.
Well, again, if we measure ourselves with our neighbors, we may be the tallest person among migets, but that dosen't make the DR an attractive place to come to worldwide. We need to strive to a higher calling - making not only a tourist industry that is multi-faceted, but also a political system, & soc-economic structure that is world class. Lets strive for idealistic goals, even if we only get half of them done. The worst thing that can happen is that we protect our environment, increase democracy, and reduce inequality.
cheers,
From: United States Virgin Islands, St Thomas Mahogany Run
excellent choice of words Baldy
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We just have to be careful w/ the way we say things, b/c the "private" is political. Racist, sexist, ageist jokes all go to support discrimination and oppression. Claiming the Dominican public has an "inferior" thinking, is a culturally-biased statement that justifies the "tutelage" of the DR by core countries, multinational corportations, and their institutions (UN, WB, IMF, IDB, WTO).
It's not that we can't learn from external criticism, but it should be considered on equal footing as local mentality in the hope that a higher understanding can be achieved.
Anyway, this was not the point of the article, so feel free to ignore.
The question i have for you, is how do you feel about DR's tourism? Do you think the opening of cuba, will take away DR's appeal. Cuba is a country with fine beaches, and attains a culture that seems to gain the interest of foreigners. What is exactly wrong with the dominican culture that causes people to think dominicans are inferior. What would you recommend the dominican government to do in regards to improving the image of dominicans?
I agree with Drealock's response above. And I disagree that the U.S. is a Uni-"product" destination. The DR is a rich culture with many many many things to offer - in natural resources (beaches, mountain, deserts, lakes, rivers, caves, forests, & mines!) and culture as well. I can't think of anything more exciting in the world than Carnaval! Our artists (music, painters, & sculturers) are second to none. What we need to do is market and package these components of our culture better. We should create booths or a weekend market where artists can sell their paintings and other creations - e.g. Argentina; or booths where booksellers can sell books- e.g. paris.
All we need is effective investment in the PUBLIC SPHERE! projects that are designed in collaboration with local partners, not just in the presidential palace.
Grumpy West Indians with a chip on their shoulder , small portions and watered down booze.
All for a premium price!
And besides I wouldn't listen to anything the UN has to say about anything anymore they can'[t ven organize themselves anymore.
Well, again, if we measure ourselves with our neighbors, we may be the tallest person among migets, but that dosen't make the DR an attractive place to come to worldwide. We need to strive to a higher calling - making not only a tourist industry that is multi-faceted, but also a political system, & soc-economic structure that is world class. Lets strive for idealistic goals, even if we only get half of them done. The worst thing that can happen is that we protect our environment, increase democracy, and reduce inequality.
cheers,