Why go out when I can spend time with my homies. Why come to DR when you could've stayed home and saved the expense of an airline ticket.

, but fell to 107 dollars in 2009 and remained the same in the 2010.

AND that includes the price of the room,!!!!!

Back in the 1980's the D.R. made a deliberate decision to go after the bargain tourists from Canada and Europe.
I said it then and I say it now. That is a big mistake

DR is the walmart of tourism. Generating low income jobs for all...

FOR years i have said your only bring the "LOW RENT TOURISTS" {all u can eat and drink club}
last week i called the brits CHEAP BASTARDS. mr. ricky said he welcome them to the dr.
i also welcome them, but they are on the CHEAP SIDE as most folks from europe are.
its a fact that in most cases AMERICANS are the bigger spenders and for sure the biggest TIPPERS."when american goes to russia and into a restaurant they lay out the red carpet for them}
in fact many from france, germany, for sure russia and the uk say that americans RUIN TRAVEL for them because they leave tips when in restaurants and hotels.
and the aforemention do not.
the all u can eat club members in most cases do not have a lot of money in the 1st place, most are far from rich or loaded with money, this is why they take the PLAN.

Back in the 1980's the D.R. made a deliberate decision to go after the bargain tourists from Canada and Europe.
I said it then and I say it now. That is a big mistake

REAL BIG MISTAKE. CORRECTO

better take a good look at the bahamas
they have no all u can eat club members.
IN THE FL. KEYS WE GET OVER 80 MILLION TOURISTS A YEAR. {MOST FROM THE UK GERMANY, AND FRANCE, AND RUSSIA AND SOUTH AMERICA] THERE ARE NO HOTELS THAT OFFER THE LOW RENT TOURISTS CLUB THE DR MISTAKE.
WHY DONT U THINK U CANT GET TOURISTS TO COME WITH OUT THE ALL U CAN EAT DEAL?
DOES ANY ONE EVEN TRY?

It's called being competitive. In this global economy many are looking for great hotel prices. If DR does not deliver the great prices, then they will go some where else. Wish fuel prices would go down in DR just like the hotel prices!

danny, all you can eat in Puerto Plata, go... you will have a blast!

If it includes the prepaid costs (room, tours, etc.) the majority of that stays in the source country.
Only pocket money stays in the destination (host) country.
Other studies in the past have shown that only 3% of the "AI" tourist's layout stays in the host country, while visitors on their own hooves shell out 100%

Long term visitors who own property here, retirees and even visitors on yachts spend every centavo here in the country with local people. Where the hell is tourism on this? They're getting theirs from the hotel tourism infrastructure washing machine. It won't change.

xwill7

Higher end tourism weather economic downturns much better than budget travel.

Just look at Casa De Campo. Times change. Economies boom and bust and yet Casa de Campo just keeps on raking in the $$$$.

Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton have both been going through expansions in spite of Barry's economic disaster.

PUERTO PLATA USED TO BE THE PLACE FOR THE ALL U CAN EAT-DRINK CLUB TO MEET.

MOST NEVER LEFT THE HOTELS GROUNDS,
COUPLE REASONS
the people that used to work these hotels in playa dorada, used to SCARE THE TOURISTS.
if u go into town chance's are they will rob or kill u! }THEY WANTED THE TOURISTS TO SPEND THEIR MONEY AT THE HOTELS COMPLEX}
when we had the taxi drivers who when they saw one GRINGO the price at least went DOUBLE.
PROBLEM IS AS I SAID BEFORE THESE FOLKS IN THE 1ST PLACE DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND.
END OF STORY.
KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS.

xwill no thank u.
in the 1st place i dont eat that much.
2nd place i dont like pop {not much to do there} lol

Higher end tourism weather economic downturns much better than budget travel.

Just look at Casa De Campo. Times change. Economies boom and bust and yet Casa de Campo just keeps on raking in the $$$$.

Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton have both been going through expansions in spite of Barry's
economic disaster.

THIS GUY IS HITTING HOME RUNS
YES PEOPLE WITH MONEY STILL HAVE MONEY TO SPEND.
AND SPEND THEY DO.

The study established that in the past 20 years, the highest investment the government made in a year in education was 1.8% of GDP. From 2008-2011 the budgetary debt for education, in regards to the lawful 4% of GDP, reached RD$165 billion, as reported in Diario Libre

GREAT PLACE TO SEND YOUR KIDS TO SCHOOL!!!

danny,
There are many cool places in the north coast. Also, you will be close to the greatest city in DR... Santiago!

ac,
I can have the same amount of fun in a high en place as in a regular resort. It's all about how you live life, all is great if you have a beautiful Dominicana next to you!

Pricing and Customer Information
Your Itinerary
FRIDAY - AUGUST 5, 2011 Time Flight
Depart: Fort Lauderdale, FL / Miami, FL AREA (FLL) 1:20 PM 145
Arrive: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ) 3:35 PM
MONDAY - AUGUST 8, 2011 Time Flight
Depart: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ) 4:25 PM 142
Arrive: Fort Lauderdale, FL / Miami, FL AREA (FLL) 6:45 PM


this is today on these dates with spirit airlines $415..
i just might have to JOIN THE ALL U CAN EAT CLUB.....??? AND THIS IS WITH OUT PAYING FOR A CAARY ON OR CHECK IN BAGS???


TOTAL $415

hope i have $2 bucks to buy a bottle water on the plane. lol

On your left you have the pile of garbage left by President X and on your right you have the pile of garbage left by President Y. Open your wallets because the police at the coming road block will request a few pesos for a "refreqo".

Please fasten your seat belts. Some of the potholes will make us lose altitude and you might hurt yourself on the ceiling of the bus.

As we move into the upcoming barrio, be sure to have your camera ready. We are bound to see an assault or lynching or shoot out.

Please don't stick your arms out of the window especially if you have jewelry as you will surely be grabbed.

Of course tourists will go to the all inclusives. Do you blame them?

Don't worry, we'll take the big spenders in Haiti when we get our act together lol

Just getting more for your mighty dollar! Lol.
Smart, isn't it?

danny,
You can get a better price than that from Florida

Walmart made Billion$$ off people who couldn't afford to shop at Macy's or even Sears for that matter. Disney made Bazillion$$ with the "one admission" amusement park.

You can build your tourism based on a couple thousand Millionaires spending $1,000/day

or

You can base your tourism on a couple million Thousandaires spending $107/day

It's better to have one hundred employees giving one percent each than to have one employee giving 100% - P.T. Barnum

it also depends on the resort- the Coral Costa Caribe has a good excursion desk - we did a couple of differant ones - we went to Isle de Catalina for snorkling which included a stop at Casa de Campo and a river cruise alone river they filmed Jurassic Park and Appocolyse Now on - it was great- what they need is a shuttle service from Juan Dolio to Santo Domingo as the old part of SDQ is wonderful - we took the carraige ride just like in Central Park - its all what you make of it- got to see so much - but as many have said - alot come to just drink and party at all inclusives and have no interest in anything else- DR has to appeal to both kinds of clients- I am now married to a wonderful DR woman so I get to see even more of what the country has to offer- Venture out- sure its a bit crazy but life is to short - as they said in Animal House- fat , drunk and stupid is no way to go thru life- Live a little - you may find out you like what you see

hulls,
You should check out el Cibao area... You might not want to ever leave lol

how many posts have i made, since 2008, on this exact topic? i must have taken a lashing from everybody on this board regarding the exact subject. the figure i used was 99 dollars per day, but i was in the ballpark. also, the length of stay is very short, compared to other islands. where is Atabey, when we would like to hear from him?

My son and I came to DR in March. We travelled all over and seemed to spend a packet. It was worth every cent. The people are so friendly, the country is beautiful. As MJ once said. "I love you all"

The economy is affecting everyone to that is a factor. But also, tourist are becoming more savy of the unwise practices of some people who try to OVERCHARGE them and rip them just because they are tourist. Hay un dicho en este pais, "bad news travels faster than good news." In other words all it takes is a handful of people who have had a bad experience to start a blog and start telling everybody to avoid the Dominican Republic because they will be ripped off. In reality the Dominican Republic is a GREAT place for tourist, its just the STUPID mentality of a few people who like to purposely overcharge for everything under the assumption that a 'tourist' is a simply a 'renewable resource' when it is not. If they treated tourist like an INVESTMENT there then would be MUCH more money to go around in the first place. People communicate now at incredible speed.

And its only natural that most tourist don't venture out and REALLY get to know the Country. Why would they? They don't speak the language, they don't know WHERE they are going, and probably not even know where they are, only the name of what it is called ("uh, I think we are in some place called "Punta Cana??") they don't know anyone there etc. So there is no sense of security. Naturally most tourist will stay put at the Hotel Premises because it is a more familiar surrounding and adds a sense of security. Of course the vast majority of tourist probably would enjoy venturing out, but they would want someone to go with them.

Key West get 80 million tourist a year????

Yes,

Need is to make tourist areas more attractive. Ban cars from central Santo Domingo during the day and introduce bendy buses. Fill in traffic tunnels and overpasses - way out of town along metro routes and make bus only lanes and cycle tracks. The underpasses etc only make street level traffic worse.

With 2 lines of the metro functioning this would be ideal round central 8 or 10 stops. Only push bikes and essential services. Park and drive or bus services from outer metro stations.

Similar treatment round other tourist hubs. Cars encourage theft and make for expense and pollution for the tourist.

Develop quickly pedestrian quarters on the Paris model closed to traffic but close to metro stations.

http://goparis.about.com/od/sightsattractions/p/Montorgueil.htm

Paris has huge tourism - investment has been made in metro.

It is just incredible to read the garbage about the DR on this site!
The DR has come along way in a short period of time and the dollars being spend are plenty. Take a look around people its not hard to see that the DR is advancing and it will continue to move forward.
Casa de campo has revenues from many areas outside of the hotel and there room occupancy has been weaker for at least 3yrs. If you actually had done some research or spent anytime there you would already no this.

This site is full of nothing more than a bunch of bitter and unhappy DR bashers!

I love the DR and if you dont just xxxx fff and leave.

Get a life but if you are on this site everyday you have no life.

When car based theft and pollution is ended and adequate policing, only easy in pedestrian areas, is developed a huge increase in tourist dollar spend is on the horizon.
Also Dominicans will benefit from reduced gasoline import, decreased pollution, decreased travel times,

S.

abc200 ... your back to your crack habit

Along with all the French - No. 1. in tourism in Europe!

HL is on something stronger than crack, that along with other drugs I never touch!

Seems to be a US habit - World's leading importer of crack.

Must be the delusional World the evil empire lives in!

S.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/....nations/france/article2069085.ece
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_Paris

Paris Respire (literally Paris breathe) is a car-free scheme where certain roads are closed to vehicular traffic on Sundays and public holidays between the hours of 9am and 5pm. The roads closed include those by the River Seine, in the Marais, the Canal Saint Martin, Montmartre as well as roads elsewhere in the city. Cycling and walking are the main forms of getting around on these roads on these days.

You can also skateboard!

Great also for Santo Domingo! Increase tourism at weekends!

S.

abc is in lala land.

Yes; all French are stupid!
Much of the tourist dollar is spent from Europe!

Voies vertesSome of the French cycle routes known as Voies vertes (literally "green ways") pass through Paris. One is the Piste du canal de L'Ourcq (the Ourcq canal path) which runs 97 km through Paris to Sevran.[4]

Sometime, somewhere xwill will discover you don't need a car / ( SUV etc. ) to enjoy yourself.

Try Wengen in Switzerland!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wengen

And all Swiss too are stupid!

In fact everybody in the World except the car obsessed US are stupid too!

S.

Of course DR tourists won't spend more than what's indicated above. No one wants to go out of the hotels. Anyways, what's to see in the streets of Punta Cana?

Nothing, but a whole bunch of Frituras, ravaged roads and houses and a lot of scary Haitians. So, Mr. Dominican government if you don't do something about ASAP. Your golden goose eggs will soon be taken by the evil wolf. In addition, there's nothing to do and visit outside the hotels. This is how ignoramous this ppl's business men are!!!

In other countries, when one visits a resort or tourist attraction - there's most likely other entertainment areas to complement the resorts. In DR, all you've got is a whole bunch of thugs and disturbing ppl strolling the peripherals looking forward to whom they'll hold up next?

So, see why tourishts don't care about buying DR crap. They have no reason to..so, slumber retarded DR government wake up or big awaking monster of Cuba will swallow you up whole.....

Yes, the ministry of culture should stop decoration of obelisks and start on street theater and music.
100 % in agreement.
Suitable policing and car free areas,

S.

Look at the cruise terminal at Sansouci that doesn't get used because cruise lines are afraid passengers are mobbed by thieves if they get off the boat, the rip-off taxis and sewer of a river they dock on. Then some cop tries to smuggle on stowaways. There's a lack of political will to fix things, and people have to stop littering and piling garbage everywhere. I don't even want to start talking about driving Las Americas through Boca Chica. As far as the all-inclusives, if the paseos to the beach with stores would stop looking like the north end of a south bound goat, tourist would go and spend money. The smells don't appeal to gringos, get rid of them.

abc is drinking rum early today

Dominican tourism fell in June; fuel costs cited

Number of tourists visiting Dominican Republic fell in June for 1st time since 2007



On Friday July 29, 2011, 5:14 pm EDT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic says the number of tourists to the Caribbean country fell in June for the first time since 2007.

The bank says the number of visitors dropped to nearly 350,000. It's a decline of less than 1 percent from the same month a year earlier but tourism officials are still worried about any decline in the country's key industry.

Hotel and Restaurant Association President Julio Llibre blames higher prices caused in part by the rising cost of fuel. He said Friday the Dominican government should lower taxes on fuel and airline tickets.

The Dominican Republic is the top tourist destination in the Caribbean. The country had more than 4 million overnight visitors last year.

But, remember that the decrease was LESS THAN 1%. And people are still investing in the product.

http://www.worldtourismdirectory.....omes-ashore-in-the-caribbean.html


Warwick International Hotels comes ashore in the Caribbean
Jul 28, 2011

PARIS, France – Warwick International Hotels has announced its first affiliated resort in the Caribbean, marking the third hotel joining the Warwick Collection this year. Balaji Palace Playa Grande, a new luxury resort nestled on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, offers exclusiveness and enchantment for an unequalled experience in this tropical island.

Balaji Palace Playa Grande offers 13 exceptional suite accommodations, from which guests can enjoy a wide range of amenities and activities. The resort sits on its own pristine, private beach on the Atlantic Ocean, and it is surrounded by an unspoiled mountain region and tropical rain forests. A golf course called “The Pebble Beach o

Atabey gives a reassuring spin

But, remember that the decrease was LESS THAN 1%. And people are still investing in the product.

nice when you look at it in a vaccuum. does not look so good when the other areas are INCREASING. Jamaica increased by 9.4%, despite the toll that the Dudus Coke affair took on tourism. what is needed is to ask WHY? how can it be that with all the expenditure on fantastic physical infrastructure, things are going in the wrong direction?. get out the licking sticks, because i am going to say this....caution better be the watchword here, lest Punta Cana end up like Puerto Plata.

Written by: xwill7,
ac,
"I can have the same amount of fun in a high en place as in a regular resort. It's all about how you live life, all is great if you have a beautiful Dominicana next to you!"

Yea..great..Cool..Whatever.

That is you...Some people desire more out of life.
Frankly beach resorts get boring for me after a couple of days. I need stimulation more than sleeping on the beach or cheesy floor shows.

Most of my friends are the same way. When asked I always suggest that after a few days at the resort head over to Santo Domingo for some real culture and nightlife. Then over to my secrete spots for some great fly fishing

I had written many comments about this topic about 2-3 weks ago when the subject of all-inclusive trips came up. I will not repeat them. However, after about 15 trips to DR, doing all-inclusive tourism and touring the most remote areas, I (we) would not feel safe anymore to tour around as we did years ago. Some imply that "low-income" families and cheapos take all-inclusive trips and don't spend a penny outside the complex. Rather a false judgement! Many people will take a one week trip to relax..., to get away from a 50+ hour week and responsabilities. They don't want the hastle of "outside the complex". If it's a family trip, they want to fully enjoy the activities offered at the complex with the kids. For many, it may be one week there to get away from Winter but they will plan other holidays doing other activities in their own country. If a family of 4 pays 1200$++ per person (from Toronto for example), for one week, we're not talking about low income people....

I had mentionned before another reason why people won't go out and spend in smaller places. They feel "bothered" left and right. You ask a direction and you have to give a tip in US $. And your great millionaire tourists that play golf? Are they out spending and helping the small business? Don't forget, the DR is not such a cheap deal for Europeans either. They are used to having great deals on flights and their popular place is the Canari Islands. As much as we love the DR, it is not the only nice, interesting, inviting place in the world.

High end resorts are developing.
For example Balcones del Atlantico, outside Las Terrenas is in the region of 500-800 dollars a night apartment only.

S.

DR is quite a cheap deal for Europeans. A four star hotel in many places in Europe will not be cheap for 2 weeks. 14 nights in a Spanish 4 star hotel is now well over 1.000 pounds with flights all inclusive. (1,650 us dollars ) This equates to about $200 room rate. 4 star in DR is similar.
S.

abc, that is a BARGAIN... for 14 days!

We have killed the tourism industry many years ago with the attitude of overcharging and trying to rip off every tourist for as much as possible.Why? because another one will replace them. In todays age people report on their trips on a place called the internet and all these people who come here and either hear bad things about leaving the resorts or actually have bad things happen when they leave probably won't be back. They will also tell whoever they have contact with their horror stories and make them not interested.

Some things to think about are of course the absolutely absurd taxes for flying to the DR. Pick another tropical location or anyplace else in general and look at the airline taxes. We charge more than just about anyplace else.

Then the first thing each visitor sees when they leave the plane is the first place they are forced to part with money and they are almost always not aware of the $10 tourist card fee they are forced to pay before even leaving the airport.

Then when they get outside if they don't have a ride waiting they get to deal with the taxi mafia charging their high prices and no other options. At least some of these AIs do provide free transportation.

Now for their experience .Ask any tourist who leave the resort what they first encounter. Its always the same gift shops with people bothering you to buy something at the highest price they can get from you. In some cases they are abusive and even threatening in how they try to sell their garbage.

People don't want to deal with that and as they wander further this is what they see. More people trying to get the most money from them they can. Police looking for bribes if they try to rent a car and drive someplace. Outside companies selling day trips which they mark up considerably and once those people speak to others who paid directly they realize they are being ripped off.

There are too many other places to go on vacation and not be hassled and ripped off or pressured.

Nonsense - look at tripadvisor reviews and there are many people who have a great time.

High prices for taxis ?
London taxis charge 85 dollars plus for a 10 mile trip from London Airport. Most times Dominican taxis offer excellent value and friendly service.
Tourist trips are very reasonably priced and many offer excellent value.

Gift shops in many areas are well managed and offer a superb range of merchandise at very reasonable prices.

Flight taxes for the DR are reasonable.

Many prices are far lower than elsewhere.

Certainly if you compare DR with say St. Maarten prices are very good in restaurants.

But as yet it must be admitted DR is not gourmet capital of the region.

A meal with ''price fixe' in St Marteen could cost over 100 dollars a head with wine per head.

( = 4.000 pesos)

http://www.lavillasxm.com/menu01_main_courses.htm

S.

ABC, this is not London. the DR is not competing agaisnt London for market share. they are competing against other regional destinations. that is where the comparisons should be made. now go put away your bong.

thonyc, make that Dr anthonyc, informs the plebes

Most of my friends are the same way. When asked I always suggest that after a few days at the resort head over to Santo Domingo for some real culture and nightlife. Then over to my secrete spots for some great fly fishing

a genuine bon vivant and racconteur. naah...a genuine poseur and windbag.

pleasuretour opines

You can build your tourism based on a couple thousand Millionaires spending $1,000/day

or

You can base your tourism on a couple million Thousandaires spending $107/day

It's better to have one hundred employees giving one percent each than to have one employee giving 100% - P.T. Barnum


though you might end up with the same gross figure, the net will be different, obviously. the cost of housing 10 guys is generally more than the cost of housing one guy. the effects on the environment are different when one guy is in a space, than when 100 guys are in the same place. a survey shows that tourists use 10 times as much water as a local. one rich guy will use 10 gallons, 100 poor guys will use 1000 gallons. and so on, and so on.

BIENES RAÍCES

$4,000 MM a Constanza

MAÑANA SE HARÁ EL LANZAMIENTO DEL MÁS GRANDE PROYECTO DE TURISMO DE MONTAÑA


Paisaje. Esta es una vista panorámica del municipio de Constanza, en la que se puede percibir parte de la belleza natural que exhiben sus montañas, las cuales son un potencial turístico.

Amílcar Nivar
amilcar.nivar@listindiario.com
Santo Domingo

Constanza será sede de mayor centro turístico
Mañana será un día de recordación en el sector turismo, pues será lanzado en República Dominicana uno de los proyectos más grandes e importantes del Caribe en lo que respecta al turismo de montaña, el cual contempla el desarrollo de 12 comunidades turísticas ecológicas en el municipio Constanza.

El proyecto, que tendrá una inversión aproximada de US$4,000 millones en sus 10 etapas, ofrece un nuevo rostro para Constanza, ya que a través del mismo se dinamizará en gran medida la economía de esta zona y se generarán miles de empleos para personas de diferentes puntos del país.

Así se expresó el ingeniero Maximino Brito, quien es presidente de la empresa Caribbean Investment y ha estado dando a conocer el proyecto que se perfila como uno de los más importantes de turismo de montaña en todo el Caribe, el “Century Grand Constanza”, el cual se construirá en 10 años.

Brito expresó que los estándares son lo principal, y el concepto es siguiendo la misma normativa que se usa en Estados Unidos, Canadá y Europa para los residenciales exclusivos, que son una especie de resort extendido.

El proyecto se hará en área de 28 millones de metros cuadrados y la primera comunidad va a ser desarrollada en un área de tres millones, 200 mil metros cuadrados. Tiene 1,700 unidades, con villas

http://www.listin.com.do/economia....1/7/28/197637/4000-MM-a-Constanza

“Este es el proyecto más grande en números financieros, más grande que cualquiera de los que están empezados en RD”

Maximino Brito, ingeniero del proyecto Century Grand Constanza.

Brito explicó que Century Grand Constanza es un proyecto de confianza, ya que el mismo fue concebido y hecho por la principal plataforma de negocios inmobiliarios de los Estados Unidos que, según dijo, es Cooper Worwitz. “Eso significa que ellos ponderaron que República Dominicana iba a ser sujeto de crédito y que lo que se hiciera aquí podía venderse en los mercados financieros, entonces nos hemos dejado guiar por la principal plataforma de negocios inmobiliarios de Estados Unidos, en términos de que ellos conciben los proyectos de manera distinta a como lo hacen aquí”, indicó.

Brito, quien visitó la redacción de LISTÍN DIARIO acompañado de Edgar Guerrero, Augusto Jupiter y Jocelyn Acevedo, anunció que este proyec

proyecto será una referencia para todos los desarrolladores inmobiliarios dominicanos, porque se abre una puerta a nivel financiero que les permitirá forzar menos a la banca local y podrán extraer recursos financieros frescos que están disponibles en diferentes mercados internacionales.

“Nosotros pudimos combinar los mercados financieros de Nueva York, Wall Street, Luxemburgo y Londres bajo la mano de Cooper Worwitz, que es la principal plataforma de negocios. Tenemos todos los fondos para hacer el proyecto desde la etapa primera hasta la etapa final”, dijo. Manifestó que este proyecto es el más importante de su género, en tamaño, en calidad y en contenido, porque cuenta con la compañía más grande del mundo en desarrollo de proyectos de ciudades, la cual según dijo, es OBM Internacional, empresa que ha desarrollado proyectos en los cinco continentes.

dread - people in NY and many parts of North America etc can go for long week-end in DR or London. Flight time 4 - 9 hours.
History, pleasant hotels/restaurants, scenic country trips or mountains.
Swiss Franc is going up and this should help DR mountain / lakeside resorts.

S.

ABC informs

dread - people in NY and many parts of North America etc can go for long week-end in DR or London. Flight time 4 - 9 hours.

and your point is they can also go to Aruba, the Bahamas, Cancun, Montego Bay, or Dubai. what are you trying to state?

anthonyc,
I have never gone to a resort look to look at the night show. If the beach is good, then thats all that I care about. I stay a few days and then head back to Santiago.

I do not need to spend top dollar to try to show off. Do you?

Remember, the natural beauty of your destination comes first, the hotel that you stay at is second. I can stay at a world class hotel here in the states. I just want to enjoy the caribbean beach

abc, we're not Star Trek in N.A.
Hum! I don't believe it's quite a common idea of a long weekend to go to London or DR or other country (except US) for a long weekend! We don't have the cheap deals of Ryan Air here. Actually, we don't have Jet Blue either! Our airport / fuel surcharges / etc are so high this is why so many along the border drive to the US and fly from there.

Comparison of prices in DR with St. Marteen. You cannot compare. St. Marteen, Martinique and Guadeloupe have ALWAYS been much more expensive.

One's comment about very interesting things to see in Santo Domingo. Yes indeed. Some hotels offer one day tours. It is a lot of busing to to and back for a few hours. It may become a rush in / rush out of a few places. It's a pity that hotels don't get together for packages : example : leave on Wed. after breakfast and drive to Santo Domingo; lunch paid by the hotel (it is an all inclusive) somewhere in SD; visit in afternoon;

evening meal and stay at a hotel; next morning, the market and return. I'm sure that could be interesting in a one week all inclusive trip.

Totally agree underpar. The DR is advancing at a very fast pace thanks to Leonel and the PLD.

canada,
I bet you love cabarete lol