Now, now, Mr. Moreno speaking the truth opens you up to being classified as negative!

The truth sometimes hurt, doesn't it?

Right and wait for Cuba.

A-I hotels leave 3% of the tourist's dollar in the country for the week they're here.
Yacht tourists leave 100% for the 2-12 weeks they're here.
Check out LuperonCruising.com, its links and cruising forums.

Some foreigners enjoy "Twisting the meaning" of the news in all these forums without looking at themselves and where They come from to see their situations is far worse than us.

FUNNY.........................EHH

well, folks, i guess i can relax in the knowledge that i have at least one person who agrees with my assessment of the current tourism model in the DR.

Jaime is the owner of Helados Bon and doesn't work in Tourism. He probably donated a lot to the Lionel campaign. If you look back in the archives here it was mentioned that the government gave some sweetheart deals out to different companies and or people on government owned properties and Helados Bon probably was one of the beneficiaries.

I know Jaimie was doing some work to revitalize the reefs but that is a big jump from being a tourism expert.

To Escott:
What does your comments about Jaime has to do with the truth of what he is saying? I think this guy is correct. The tourism model that we have had for the past 25 years is alienating and does not reflect the will and aspiration of a great majority of people in the Dominican Republic. Most of our beaches have been taken away by foreign enterprises.

Tourists undoubtedly purchase some Dominican grown and manufactured products .. however they also buy foreign products with which they are more familiar .. items that must be imported .. in extreme cases they even bring their own essentials to avoid spending on locally made items ..
in that case their main contribution to the Dominican economy is accomodation expenses in hotels and resorts .. and some spending on local transportation between the airport and resorts ..

Isolated ghetto? Nobody is holding them at gunpoint Mr. Moreno .. if they want to leave the ghetto and explore their surroundings they are free to do so .. they are not sheep .. they can do what ever they want .. so why bother changing what does not need to be changed? Change just for the sake of change?

How can this guy possibly come up with this thought. Sun-and-beach tourism will never die out. One has to capitalize on one's resources. Europe capitalizes on its ancient ruins and structures and people have never stopped flocking to Europe. Hawaii has always capitalized on sun-and-sand tourism and to this day still appeals to any foreign traveler wishing to lay on its beaches. Winters will always come around in cold climates and so long as that happens, someone is sure to want a reprieve from a blistering winter every now and then. There's nothing wrong with diversifying your options with eco-tourism or something else but let's get real. If the DR started offering a cultural experience only; would most people hop on a plane to see ruins in the Colonial City? I don't think so; if they want ruins; they'll go to Europe for that. Get real...please.

nyclatinhunk, you seem not to have read the article, or not to have grasped the gravamen. the first sentence makes it clear that BY ITSELF it is untenable. the author does not advocate neglecting sun and sand...he simply asserts diversification. one does not have to be a rocket scientist to be able to understand those thoughts. the sun and sand motif is beset by competition. every country on earth which is within 20 degrees latitude north or south of the equator and has a coastline has sun and sand to offer, with varying degrees of allure, of course. but every day there are new areas opening up which give rise to more competition. just as the earlier areas of the caribbean in the tourism jungle, such as the bahamas and jamaica, are facing challenges from the dr for tourist dollars, the dr will face the same issues in the not too distant future.

Mr Jaime I Hope that A lot of more people can see reality as you have...

This is another one:
A-I hotels leave 3% of the tourist's dollar in the country for the week they're here.
Yacht tourists leave 100% for the 2-12 weeks they're here.
Resort do not wants tourist out of their turf or share the goodies with the Dominican People Well that depend Some are getting a lot for looking the other way....
Resort will leave in the end a destructive biomass and biodiversity And in 10 to 20 years a ruin worse than Irak..... Ecoturist Are by rule naturals lover visionary safe guarding the future of our children's.... Leaving behind the same money to the country and the citizen.... Than big resorts...
So lest look at Costa Rica Y Hondura and many other in their approach to Tourism....

Mr Jaime I Hope that A lot of more people can see reality as you have...

This is another one:
A-I hotels leave 3% of the tourist's dollar in the country for the week they're here.
Yacht tourists leave 100% for the 2-12 weeks they're here.
Resort do not wants tourist out of their turf or share the goodies with the Dominican People Well that depend Some are getting a lot for looking the other way....
Resort will leave in the end a destructive biomass and biodiversity And in 10 to 20 years a ruin worse than Irak..... Ecoturist Are by rule naturals lover visionary safe guarding the future of our children's.... Leaving behind the same money to the country and the citizen.... Than big resorts...
So lest look at Costa Rica Y Hondura and many other in their approach to Tourism....