Dominican Rep (few eco)tourism news (english)

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> DR1 Daily News -- Thursday, 10 May 2001
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> 13. Sustainable tourism seminar in Juan Dolio
> The Dominican Chapter of the Caribbean Tourism Organization will hold a
> workshop on sustainable tourism at the Coral Costa Caribe hotel in Juan
> Dolio. The workshop will take place Saturday, 19 May. It will deal with
> the concept of harmony between tourism development and preservation of
> the environment. The main speaker will be Bolivar Troncoso Morales, who
> has a masters degree in ecological tourism and is director of the
> department of ecology and biodiversity at the Ministry of Tourism.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________

> DR1 Daily News --Wednesday, 9 May 2001
>
> 6. Infrastructure work to start in western park zone
> Tourism Minister Ramon Alfredo Bordas announced that within the next
> 60 days construction will start on the construction of infrastructure
> in the Jaragua National Park, between Oviedo and the Pedernales
> beaches. Listin Diario reports that the Ministry is only awaiting the
> completion of the territorial plan and tourism development studies
> that it is carrying out jointly with the Environment Ministry.
> The Jaragua National Park land was declared appropriate for tourism
> development in a decree issued by President Hipolito Mejia. The decree
> met with vast opposition from environmentalists who fear tourism
> development of the ecologically fragile area would be harmful to the
> ecology.
> Minister Bordas, however, said his department is working closely with
> the Environment Ministry to avoid damage to the flora, fauna and
> ecosystems in the area.
> He spoke during a meeting in Pedernales attended by Major General
> Antonio Imbert Barreras, who presides over the Tourism Development
> Commission of Pedernales. The Environment Minister Frank Moya Pons,
> the Governor of Pedernales Juana del Socorro Perez, and Senator Angel
> Dinocrates Perez were also present.
>

> DR1 Daily News -- Monday, 7 May 2001
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>
> 10. Apple Vacations to launch air carrier
> The Dominican Republic stands to benefit from Apple Vacations efforts
> to launch USA 3000. The leading US tour operator is following the
> European model of integrating tour operator and air carrier. The
> company says this move would ensure they have sufficient air seats to
> meet the growing demand for seats, as reported in Travel Weekly.
> The US Transportation Department has tentatively approved the
> company's plans to launch the air carrier.
> The planes will fly nonstop from Philadelphia, Chicago and Newark to
> Cancun, Mexico and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the company's two
> leading sun-and-surf destinations.
> At present, the tour operator buys seats on Alaska Airlines, Aloha
> Air, Air Jamaica, American Airlines, America West, Continental
> Airlines, Mexicana Airlines, TWA, US Air and many more.
> For more information on this story, see
> http://www.twcrossroads.com/news/newswrapper.asp?ArticleID=26541&Keywo
> rd=Tour+Operators
>
>
> 11. New cruise ship to dock in Puerto Plata
> El Siglo newspaper reports that the M/S Caribic Star will depart from
> Puerto Plata port twice a week starting 21 June. The cruise ship will
> also dock in Santiago (Cuba) and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
>
> 12. Embassy Suites in Juan Dolio
> President Hipolito Mejia broke ground over the weekend to formally
> start construction of the 126-room Embassy Suites in Juan Dolio. The
> new hotel is going up on the premises of the Los Marlins golf course
> and the Metro Country Club. This would be the first franchise of the
> Hilton Hotels corporation in the DR. President of the hotel, Luis Jose
> Asilis Elmudesi, said the US$10 million investment will provide
> golfers a high quality place to stay in a quiet residential community.
> Also present for the ground breaking ceremony was Minister of Tourism
> Ramon Alfredo Bordas. Moya Construcciones will build the hotel.

> DR1 Daily News -- Friday, 04 May 2001
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> 12. Prieto again urges stop to hotel construction
> The president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, Ramon
> Prieto, has repeated that the nation's 52,000 hotel rooms are enough.
> He said the country should go two or three years without adding another
> hotel room.
> Prieto says that income levels of the hotels declined 10-15% during the
> first trimester of the year, reflecting the increase in taxes that went
> into effect in January. He said the hotels have had to absorb the
> taxes, not being able to pass them on to tour operators that have
> already published their prices for summer of this year. Thus hotel
> profitability is down.
> Prieto said he is optimistic that private sector and government efforts
> to increase the number of US travelers will pay off. European travel is
> affected by a decline in the value of the European currency in relation
> to the US dollar, making Dominican holidays more expensive for
> Europeans.
> Furthermore, Prieto explains that hotel occupancy is only around 70%.
> The excess supply is pushing rates down.
>
> 13. Tourism, Environment and New Technologies
> Spain's Environment Ministry, the Ministry of Tourism and Preferente
> Magazine of Spain are sponsoring an important tourism seminar that will
> take place next month in Santo Domingo. They will be working with the
> support of the National Hotels & Restaurants, the Banco Popular in the
> DR and Bancaja of Spain. Ramon Prieto made the announcement yesterday
> at a press conference. He said the presidents of Sol Melia, Barcelo,
> Iberostar and Piñero Hoteles will be coming for the event. These
> Spanish companies have major investments in hotel properties in the DR.
> Bancaja is sponsoring the event as it has invested US$327 million in
> hotels in the Caribbean.
> The event is slated for 25 June.
> The seminar seeks to create an awareness among businessmen and the
> general public of the importance of preserving the environment as a
> major attraction in each tourism region.
>

> DR1 Daily News -- Wednesday, 02 May 2001
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>
> 1. Green light to controversial La Vega dam
> 2. US is leading source of tourists to DR; Delta to fly here in November
> 11. Ramon Prieto says ecotourism is the future
>
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>
> 1. Green light to controversial La Vega dam
> President Hipolito Mejia announced the start this month of the
> construction on the Manabao-Bejucal-Tavera dam in the province of La
> Vega. The President had said in Taiwan during a recent visit that the
> dam would not be built.
> The construction is vehemently opposed by environmental and community
> groups in Jarabacoa that fear it will cause major ecological damage.
> They say it would require diverting the Rio Yaque del Norte for some 40
> kilometers, affecting Jarabacoa ecotourism projects. The construction
> of the dam had been discarded years ago after studies done during the
> Balaguer administration recommended it not be built.
> President Mejia said a study carried out by a Spanish company, Union
> Española, concluded the dam and hydroelectric project would not cause
> important ecological damage. President Mejia said there are plans to
> turn Jarabacoa into a true tourism center with the construction of new
> roads, sewage systems and the improvement of the La Confluencia
> vacation area.
> Furthermore, he said the government plans to convert the state-owned
> Hotel Montaña into a school to train environment specialists.
> The Minister of Environment has not issued an opinion on the dam
> project.
> Those who defend the dam argue that it would save US$23 million in fuel
> imports and create 2,000 jobs.
>
> 2. US is leading source of tourists to DR; Delta to fly here in November
> Tourism Minister Ramon Alfredo Bordas said that last year the US
> surpassed Germany as the main single-country source of visitors. He
> said 632,000 US tourists visited in 2000. Most of the US tourists are
> coming to the Punta Cana area.
> Minister Bordas also said Delta Airlines will begin regular flights to
> the Dominican Republic in November, according to El Caribe newspaper.
>
> 3. Investigating Santiago's collapsed building
>
> 11. Ramon Prieto says ecotourism is the future
> Ramon Prieto, president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association,
> says that ecotourism is the future of tourism. In an interview with the
> Listin Diario he explained that interest in protecting the environment
> is a global trend among tourists. Prieto has spoken up against the
> construction of more large all-inclusive resorts. He favors developing
> smaller properties in areas of interest to tourists interested in the
> ecology and adventure travel.
> He said that, in the past, the industry has measured its progress by
> the number of rooms that are built. "We feel that is not the right way
> to measure the industry; it should be by how much foreign exchange is
> generated," said Prieto.
> "We have to start to organize ourselves and our work; the number of
> rooms that we already have is sufficient."
> "Construction is not development because when the room occupation is
> low we have to send the employees home," he explained. He said that
> hotels employ more people than hotel construction.
> Prieto is spearheading a national campaign to put a halt to hotel
> construction in the country, to give the industry time to catch up with
> the demand. For years, the Dominican Republic has had the highest
> growth rate of hotel room construction. There are more than 52,000
> hotel rooms in the DR.
> Pedro Tomasio, president of the North Coast chapter of Opetur, a major
> tour operator association, also favors putting a halt to hotel
> construction in the DR. He told the Listin Diario: "An official policy
> for the regulation of the construction of new hotel rooms would be
> prudent."

> DR1 Daily News -- Monday, 23 April 2001
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> 5. Old terminal at Las Americas rebuilt
> Hoy newspaper reports that the old terminal of the Las Americas
> International Airport could be operational this December. The terminal
> was closed in 1992 after an unexplained fire damaged the area. The
> newspaper reports that Aerodom, which manages the airport, is
> installing new migration and administrative areas, luggage conveyors,
> air conditioning and elevators in the old terminal. The renovations
> will enable Las Americas to serve more airlines.
>
> 6. What happened with German tour operator?
> Minister of Tourism Ramon Alfredo Bordas explained to Hoy newspaper
> the reshuffling that occurred in Germany and England that led to the
> discontinuation of the Puerto Plata flights of Britannia Airways
> (owned by Thomson of England) and the discontinuation of the low cost
> packages of FTI, a German wholesaler.
> He said that LTU airline will now service tourists that FTI may book
> for the DR and who previously flew in on Britannia Airways.
> Recently ARA Hotels announced the closing of several small hotels in
> Sosua citing the unilateral cancellation of FTI bookings.
> Minister Bordas explained to Hoy newspaper what happened.
> He said that Britannia offered lower prices than German charter flight
> competitors LTU, Condor and Hapag Lloyd. The airline specialized in
> serving tour operators that offered long haul and budget packages,
> such as FTI. "This wholesaler focused on the DR and promoted the
> country in a way that was effective in the short run but harmful in
> the long run to the interests of the DR and even their own interests,"
> explained Bordas. He said the airline cheapened the average holiday
> package by more than 20%. Bordas said the company even offered
> packages that ranged from US$350 for a two-week stay.
> He explained that Airtours of England purchased a significant part of
> FTI but the German wholesaler continued to operate independently,
> booking large numbers of vacationers at a loss. When this practice
> became known, it affected Airtours' shares on the market. This led the
> central office of Airtours in England to remove Mr. Gunz, the founder
> and chief executive of FTI, and assume the operations. The new
> management cut the programs to the DR due to the losses sustained by
> the below-cost prices the company used to attract large numbers of
> passengers.
>
> 7. Caoba Tours clarification
> Mayo Gonzalez, legal counsel of Caoba Tours, wrote to DR1 Daily News
> to clarify that a statement about the closing of several hotels in
> Sosua was not made by Ruben Gutierrez of Caoba Tours. The story said
> that the hotels were closing due to more complaints than usual from
> German tourists regarding hotel services in the area. In a
> clarification to DR1 Daily News, Gonzalez wrote that "the one and only
> statement of Ruben Gutierrez to Listin Diario’s journalist was that
> the problems confronted by ARA Hotels reflect the drop in demand for
> North Coast vacations by German vacationers."
>
> 8. Dominican consuls issue many visas for Haitians
> El Siglo reports that the Dominican consuls in Haiti are issuing a
> record numbers of visas. The newspaper reports that consuls issue
> visas for a single entry (US$40) and also for multiple entry (US$200).
> The newspaper points out that a "significant portion of the cost of
> the visa is kept by the consuls."
> El Siglo says the visas are being issued despite the Ministry of
> Foreign Relations having an established limit of 50 visas per day.
> El Siglo reports that Dominican consuls in Haiti have issued more than
> 43,000 visas in the past four months. Of the 43,929 Haitians who
> entered legally through Jimani, Dajabon and Elías Piña, 35,324
> returned to Haiti and 7,000 did not.
>
>
> 12. Travel exhibition fair
> Luis Felipe Aquino, organizer of the Caribbean Tourism Bourse,
> announces the fair will take place this weekend at the Dominican
> Fiesta Hotel. The trade show and travel exhibition opens Wednesday, 25
> April and closes on Saturday, 28 April. Coming for the event are
> exhibitors from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
> Panama, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Curaçao and Haiti. The
> closing party will take place in the Ferry del Caribe, the ferry that
> travels between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
>

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> DR1 Daily News -- Tuesday, 17 April 2001
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>
>
> 14. Stop to building new hotels urged
> The president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association said he is
> seeking a consensus for a freeze on the construction of new hotel rooms in
> the Puerto Plata and Punta Cana areas. He feels these areas are already
> saturated.
> Ramon Prieto, president of Asonahores said that it is in the best interest
> of the hotel sector to stop the construction of new hotel rooms and
> dedicate efforts to increasing the demand for Dominican holidays.
> He explained there are around 52,000 hotel rooms in the DR, and last year
> the country had a 71% occupancy rate.
> Prieto says that the demand has not been able to keep up with the fast pace
> of the increase in the inventory of hotel rooms, which is affecting the
> rates hoteliers can charge. He forecast that a reduction in the rate of
> increase in hotel rooms, will give hotels a breather so they can invest in
> their rooms, and thus be able to demand higher prices for these.
> Furthermore, he pointed out that hotels generate more foreign exchange, and
> more jobs than the construction sector.
> He favors the construction of a different type of rooms, as the country has
> too many of the same kind and that limits the market. He also favors
> exploiting new areas and continuing the development of ecotourism.
Received on Thu May 10 18:48:29 2001