DR tourism news November 2000

> DR1 Daily News -- Tuesday, 28 November 2000
> ********************************************************************
> 8. Aerodom proposes construction of new airport
> Aerodom, the company that won the tender for the operation of the
> Arroyo Barril (Samana), María Montez (Barahona), Las Americas (Santo
> Domingo) and Gregorio Luperón (Puerto Plata) airports now has changed
> its mind. They are proposing to use the Arroyo Barril facility only
> for domestic operations. Instead of expanding that terminal, they
> propose to build another airport on a plain located at Catey-Majagua,
> some 51 kilometers northwest of the present location. Arroyo Barril is
> located near Sánchez, 16 kilometers from Samana. Community leaders
> oppose the new location, as it will mean tourists will have to travel
> about an hour and a half by ground transportation to get to their
> hotel.
> The proposal, nevertheless, would seem to make good business sense.
> With the construction further west, the airport could also better
> serve the large resorts that are already in operation in the Playa
> Grande-Río San Juan-Cabrera (Costa Verde) area along the North Coast.
> Tourists headed for those resorts today land at the Gregorio Luperón
> (Puerto Plata) also operated by Aerodom. It would also be attractive
> for those headed for the large city of San Francisco de Macorís.
> Ellis Pérez, spokesman for the company, says that the airport in El
> Catey would take less time to build, 18 months, than the 2-1/2 years
> it would take to expand Arroyo Barril. The company would invest
> US$40-US$60 million in the new facility.
> According to Engineer Serrano Banks, to win the bid for the four
> airports, Aerodom agreed to a US$55 million + US$14 million (second
> phase) investment and a 24 month construction period. He and other
> Samana community leaders argue that the problems with the Arroyo
> Barril expansion were well known to Aerodom when the bid was made.
> Engineer Serrano says that the Aerodom proposal for the expansion
> practically won the company the bid over the other more conservative
> companies.
> Today Arroyo Barril, a RD$275 million investment of the Dominican
> state, receives only Air Santo Domingo flights.
> Several community leaders in Samana would like their destination to
> become a mecca of thousands of package-buying tourists. Thousands of
> hotel rooms in large resorts are on the drawing board, despite
> recommendations of experts that low-density projects are best for the
> fragile ecology of Samana. Meanwhile, not having an airport has been a
> bonus for nature lovers that today enjoy the many small inns and
> hotels that dot the province.

> DR1 Daily News -- Tuesday, 21 November 2000
> ********************************************************************
>
> 1. The biggest blooper of the year?
> 2. Ten more days to get car registrations
> 3. Expedite passport renewal service at airports
> 4. US$10 million to put up road and highway signs
> 5. Felix Bautista arrested for corruption
> 6. CDE announces start of tender for transmission lines privatization
> 7. Business and legal groups advocate government accountability
> 8. Politically well-positioned parents
> 9. Peso at RD$16.40-RD$16.50
>
> ********************************************************************
>
> DR1 Chat Schedule: http://www.dr1.com/expat/
> DR1 Calendar of Events: http://www.dr1.com/daily/calendar.shtml
> DR1 Baseball Games Schedule:
> http://www.dr1.com/daily/baseball.shtml
>
> ********************************************************************
>
> 1. The biggest blooper of the year?
> While there are major differences over the tax bills that Congress is
> studying, where everyone seems to be in agreement is that equating the
> time in the DR to the time in the Eastern Seaboard of the US was a big
> mistake. Now the sun is up at 5 in the morning, and it's begins to get
> dark around 4:30 pm.
> The winners: farmers who get up early, sports runners and other
> athletes that train early in the morning, airport operators that can
> charge higher night fees during the afternoon, banks that work with US
> banks, etc.
> The losers: school children that attend the afternoon shift that now
> get out at "night", tourists who are short changed of their time on
> the beach, households and businesses that are expecting higher power
> bills due to having to turn on the lights earlier at peak hours.
> And things are expected to get worse. By March, if the clocks are not
> set ahead, the sun will be up at 4 am, and it will be night by 4 pm.
> Will the government recognize it made a mistake? Or will the country
> have to wait for April to make the change?
> Francisco Perez of Catalonia resort in Punta Cana says that if one
> waits for April, the clocks will have to be set ahead two hours. Then
> come October, clocks should be set back only one hour, and then leave
> it that way. He says if this is done, then all year round it will be
> nighttime at 8:30 pm and at 6:30 pm from October to April.
> Perez says that the way things were was the right way. That is time in
> the DR was one hour ahead, or -4 hours in regards to the UTC of
> Greenwich. This provides for more hours of daylight in the afternoon
> hours than in the morning hours.
> Pérez also alerts that the earlier nighttime will cause an increase in
> criminality. He recommends reading this web site that shows there is a
> direct relation between criminality and the hours of daylight.
> http://lash.une.edu.au/~drobinso/DSTacc.html
> Pérez says that what is right in the US is not necessarily right in
> the tropics. The California Energy Commission explains that equatorial
> and tropical countries (lower latitudes) don't observe Daylight Saving
> Time since the daylight hours are similar during every season, so
> there's no advantage to moving clocks forward during the summer.
> http://www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html
> Former Vice President Carlos Morales Troncoso, writing in El Siglo,
> estimates this mistake will cost the country 3-4% more in energy
> consumption. Ironically, the rational behind the change of times was
> to save energy.
> On the "Botando el Golpe" radio program last Friday, popular Jochy
> Santos asked everyone at 5 pm to turn on their turning signals if the
> time switch was a bother. The city became a festival of lights. The
> mention was made in a comment on the time change in the Aserrín column
> of El Siglo, where the author suggests clocks be reverted on 1 January
> 2001.
> Frank Rainieri, president of Punta Cana Group, says the measure has
> brought about an increase in beverage consumption at hotels. When the
> sun goes down around 5 pm, the tourists hit the bars. In the past they
> would squeeze out the last minute of daylight lounging on the beaches.
> Antonio Espín, president of the Association of Industries of Haina,
> and Jose Torres, executive director of the Free Zones Association both
> say the measure affects productivity in a negative manner. They would
> like the clocks to return to where they were. Several companies have
> set earlier entrance hours so that employees can get off earlier.
> Jenny Polanco, a leading clothes manufacturer, says that workers start
> at 7:30 am and leave at 4:30 pm and the decision, proposed by the
> employees, was accepted unanimously.
> Prior to the 29 October 2000 change by President Mejía, time in the DR
> had been stable since it was last changed by then President Salvador
> Jorge Blanco (1982-86).
>
> 3. Expedite passport renewal service at airports
> The Department of Passports announced it is prepared to renew
> passports in less than 20 minutes time at the Las Americas
> International Airport. The press note does not explain which other
> airports may offer this service. From 1 December 2000 to 31 January
> 2001, the service will be offered at Las Americas. The government will
> start a campaign to make returning Dominicans aware of this service.
> The renewals will cost more at the airport than through the normal
> process in Santo Domingo. For those that do not want to waste a minute
> of their vacations, US$50/2 year renewal; US$70/four year renewal and
> US$90/six year renewal will be possible.
>
>
> 7. New hotel in East is adults only
> The East Coast's first "adults only" resort will open 7 December. The
> announcement was made by Marsha Nadin in an interview with Hoy
> newspaper. The 446-room Royal Uvero Alto is located in a new area
> under development north of Punta Cana-Bavaro-Macao, near Nisibón. The
> hotel will operate as an all-included resort and is targeting couples,
> honeymooners and couples that want to marry here. There is an 18-year
> old age restriction for guests. The hotel is the first Excellence
> Hotels & Resorts property in the country. Jack Tar village in Playa
> Dorada, Puerto Plata is the North Coast's adults only hotel.

> DR1 Daily News -- Thursday, 16 November 2000
>
> 3. King to help event commemorating arrival of Africans to America
> The King and Queen of Spain visited the Palacio Consistorial in
> Colonial Santo Domingo, site of the first municipal offices in the New
> World. During the event held in their honor, they were declared
> distinguished visitors of Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo Mayor Johnny
> Ventura requested the King and Queen's assistance to prepare the
> commemorating of the 500th year of the arrival of the first Black
> persons to the Americas next year. African slaves came from Africa to
> replace the dwindling Taino Indian workforce that could not take the
> hard labor expected of them by the Spanish colonizers.
>
> 7. Barceló adds three more Bávaro area hotels
> Barceló hotels in the DR added new properties to its hotel inventory
> in the Bávaro Beach area, along the East Coast. The Spanish hotel
> chain will now operate the Barceló Bávaro Village (234 rooms), Barceló
> Villas Bávaro (230 rooms) and Barceló Ocean Village (156 rooms) in the
> Bávaro area. These properties are located besides the new Convention
> Center under construction by the Barceló hotel group in the area. The
> new convention center will be the largest in the Caribbean.
> Felix Felipe signed the agreement for Barceló and Frank Castillo for
> Bávaro Villages. The acquisition makes Barceló the leading hotel
> operator in the DR with 17 hotels on the East and South coasts. In
> Bávaro, the Spanish chain already operates the Barceló Bávaro Beach,
> Golf, Casino, Garden and Palace hotels.
>

> DR1 Daily News -- Tuesday, 5 December 2000
> 1. President Mejía in Samana
> The Mejía government met in Samana yesterday. The President listened
> to the list of priority projects presented by Governor Amada Manzueta
> de Medina, Samana city Mayor Virgilio Mercado, Senator Ramiro Espin,
> and Manuel Arturo Peña, of Portillo Beach Resort, who represented the
> business sector.
> During the visit, the President observed the renovated Malecón area.
> Architect Leonardo Macarrulla said that the 1.2 kilometer boulevard
> had been redesigned and converted into a grand plaza of 15,000 square
> meters facing the Bay of Samana. He said that a second phase includes
> the construction of a bus terminal and a base for the Navy.
> In Samana, the President announced:
> Aerodom will build a new international airport at El Catey starting in
> February which should be ready by mid 2002. This airport will have
> capacity to handle widebody jets that the present Arroyo Barril
> Airport can not. Arroyo Barril will continue to handle domestic
> flights.
> Construction works on El Limón-Las Terrenas road will continue. The
> road provides an alternate route to the twisting Las Terrenas mountain
> for those traveling to Samana from Sánchez.
> A dam/aqueduct will be built using waters of the Rio San Juan to serve
> the potable water needs of the communities of Samana and irrigation
> needs for 50 year span. New sewage facilities will be built.
> Nineteen buoys will be placed in the Samana port area.
> Samana will benefit from the nationwide program to place signs on
> roads and highways in the DR.
> Four coconut seedling nurseries are being installed to promote the
> planting of coconut trees in the area.
> Dredging and reconstruction of the Sabana de la Mar port to allow for
> the arrival of a ferry with cars and buses from the Bavaro-Punta Cana
> area. The roads leading from Bavaro and Punta Cana to Sabana de la Mar
> need to also to be repaired.
> Repair of streets and roads in Las Terrenas, Sánchez, Nagua and
> Samana.
> Construction of public bathrooms in the tourist zones.
> Embellishing of the port and construction of a maritime terminal for
> yachts and tourism service boats.
> Construction of a building to house a branch of the Universidad
> Autónoma de Santo Domingo.
> Repairs to Arroyo Barril port to facilitate arrival of cruise ships.
>
> 6. Relocating of beach vendors is difficult job
> The Ministry of Tourism has begun a program to relocate handicraft
> vendors in the North Coast. Negligence on behalf of municipal
> authorities and the authorities of the Central Bank (Definpro) has led
> to the growth in the number of shacks and vendors located in beaches,
> a situation that in many areas, such as Sosua Beach has gotten out of
> hand.
> In Sosua more than 300 vendors seem to occupy a larger portion of the
> beach with their shacks than that is left for the public visiting the
> beach. In Sosua, the Ministry of Tourism recently salvaged about 10%
> of the beach, with vendor shacks dismantled near the Hotel Los
> Coralillos. But the situation is difficult as many of the vendors have
> years operating there, and say they have permits of the municipality
> of Sosua. The situation also involves many foreigners who say they
> have purchased the rights to do business there from the original
> beneficiaries of the permits. The legality of the original permits is
> questioned. The Sosua case is aggravated because of the difficulty in
> finding where the vendors would accept to relocate to.
> So far, vendors and their shacks have been dismantled at the Costa
> Dorada-Mara Picá beach area. They are being relocating to provisional
> tents in an authorized area within the nearby Playa Dorada complex.
> The dismantling of vendors and their shacks in the nearby Playa Dorada
> beach is being accomplished in a more gradual manner. The authorized
> mobile vendors (Azulados), about 80, have been divided into two groups
> of 40 and are now only allowed to sell on separate days. Eventually,
> the plan is to relocate these and those known as Anaranjados, a group
> of 40-60 vendors to the new handicraft plaza that will go up at the
> location of the horse stables of Playa Dorada.
> Meanwhile, the vendors that have been displaced by the Ministry of
> Tourism and the Tourist Police are holding protests today in Puerto
> Plata.
> Will the Ministry of Tourism be able to continue with its plan to
> relocate the vendors, peacefully or forcibly is yet to be seen. Other
> north coast beaches that are affected by this situation are Playa
> Grande and Caletón, where vendors have been allowed to locate despite
> legal prohibitions to the effect.
>
Received on Thu Dec 7 13:35:05 2000