Re: Dominican Rep tourism news in english

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----- Original Message -----
From: Yacine Khelladi <yacine@YACINE.NET>
To: <CANGONET@YORKU.CA>
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 9:01 PM
Subject: Dominican Rep tourism news in english

> > ********************************************************************
> > DR1 Daily News -- Monday, 26 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
>
> > 2. Jet Skiing again banned in Punta Cana
> > The Ministry of Tourism has reinstated the ban on the use of jet skis
> > in the Punta Cana-Bavaro beach areas. Resolution 05-2001 of the
> > Ministry of Tourism nullifies its Resolution 02-2001 issued on 8
> > January 2001. Jet ski use is now banned on the beaches located from
> > Punta Cana to Boca de Maimon, Macao and Uvero Alto. This had been
> > requested by hoteliers in the area who are concerned about the safety
> > of their guests.
> > The Ministry did not outlaw the use of jet skis in other areas of the
> > country.
> >
> > 3. Beaches for people during Easter
> > As per Resolution 03/2001, the Ministry of Tourism announced that the
> > use of jet skis, wave runners, motor boats, horses, motorcycles and
> > vehicles is banned at most Dominican beaches for Easter Week. The ban
> > affects all beaches, including Boca Chica, Playa Caribe, Guayacanes,
> > Juan Dolio, Isla Catalina, Bayahibe, Saona, Punta Cana, Bavaro, Samana,
> > Cayo Levantado, Las Galeras, Las Terrenas, Matanzas, Matancita, Los
> > Gringos, El Caleton, Playa Grande, Cabarete, Sosua, Playa Dorada, Long
> > Beach, Luperon, Punta Rucia, Los Patos, Playa Monte Rio, Palmar de
> > Ocoa, Salinas, and Palenque. The ban is effective from Saturday, 7
> > April to Monday, 16 April.
> > The Easter Week prohibition has been on for many years to preserve the
> > safety of beach goers. Easter Week is the peak of the beach-going
> > season for Dominicans, and beaches are particularly full for the Easter
> > long weekend.
> >
> > 7. Money crops produce less in 2000
> > The Dominican Center for the Promotion of Exports (Cedopex) reports
> > that traditional exports were down 5% in 2000. Traditional exports
> > include raw and refined sugar and the sugar by-products like molasses
> > and furfural. Others are coffee, cocoa and tobacco. All together, these
> > generated US$137.9 million in 2000, down from US$144.9 million in
> > 1999.
> > Exports of non-traditional products were up 12.49%, although
> > agroindustrial exports dropped 11%. Mining was up 64%.
> > Total exports were US$4,113.4 million, up 4.34% compared to 1999. Total
> > non free zone export of goods reached US$762.9 million, up 20.39%. Free
> > zone exports were up 1.26%.
> >
>
>
> > ********************************************************************
> > DR1 Daily News -- Wednesday, 21 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
> >
> >
> > 5. Tender prepared for Playa Grande development
> > Vice Governor of the Central Bank Luis Manuel Piantini said that the
> > Central Bank is preparing a tender to sell the Playa Grande tourism
> > development in the area of Rio San Juan, Maria Trinidad Sanchez
> > province on the North Coast. He said the golf course that is part of
> > that development is valued at US$120 million. Golfers praise this golf
> > course as one of the best in the DR and the Caribbean.
> > Piantini says that President Mejia favors the Central Bank divesting
> > itself of property it has acquired under special circumstances that
> > does not correspond to the essence of its operation. Other tourism
> > potential development properties are the Montellano sugar fields and
> > the Playa Dorada golf course and other facilities, in Puerto Plata.
> > The Central Bank also owns the Rosario gold mine that is up for a
> > tender in July.
> >
>
>
> > DR1 Daily News -- Monday, 19 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
> >
> > 2. Biodiversity Center opens in Punta Cana
> > President Mejia went East to Punta Cana on Saturday, 17 March to be
> > present at the formal opening of the Centro de Biodiversidad
> > Universidad Cornell-Punta Cana. The center is a joint project of the
> > University of Cornell and the Grupo Punta Cana (owners of tourist
> > resorts and the Punta Cana International Airport). The Center is in
> > charge of an ecological preserve of 10,000 tareas.
> > US Congressman Charles Rangel came for the event. Also present was Ted
> > Kheel of the Grupo Punta Cana Ted Kheel, who made the contact with the
> > university, his own alma mater. Also attending were Minister of
> > Foreign Relations Hugo Tolentino Dipp and Minister of Environment
> > Frank Moya Pons.
> > Frank Rainieri, president of the Punta Cana Group explained that the
> > center is a RD$25 million investment and has already carried out an
> > inventory of the birds in the zone. It will soon have for sale a CD
> > with the songs of the birds, including the second smallest bird in the
> > world.
> > The biodiversity center seeks to preserve the flora and fauna on the
> > Punta Cana area now under intense tourism development, with 18,000
> > hotel rooms, most having gone up in the past 10 years.
> > Dr. Mitchell Gaynor came from the University of Cornell to give a
> > conference for the occasion.
> > The Center has signed an agreement with the Instituto Nacional de
> > Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales for future research. The
> > center will promote exchanges between scientists and scholars of the
> > US and the DR. Its work seeks to make valuable contributions to the
> > area ecology, the development of new medicines, the economy and
> > culture.
> >
> >
>
>
> > DR1 Daily News -- Friday, 16 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
> > 5. Minister of Environment praises Presidential decision
> > After remaining silent when sectors spoke up against the Presidential
> > decision to develop areas of National Parks, Minister of Environment
> > Frank Moya Pons answered press questions at an environmental workshop
> > held in Boca Chica yesterday that was attended by President Mejia
> > himself.
> > Minister of Environment praised the presidential decision to request
> > that the Senate put aside the bills that would modify the parks until
> > the status of ownership of the properties is clarified. President
> > Mejia in a letter to the Senate said that he would wait until the
> > Ministry of Environment submitted a bill establishing the use of
> > protected areas as is established in the Environment Law (see
> > http://www.dr1.com/daily/news01501.shtml).
> > The Ministry is preparing the Ley Sectorial de Areas Protegidas that
> > will contain this information. Moya Pons said that to draft the bill
> > they are consulting spokespeople in the communities, businessmen that
> > would benefit or be affected, and the civic society.
> > El Caribe newspaper points out that at the workshop, President Mejia
> > disregarded the opinion of the ecologists, calling them "radicals" and
> > maintained his conviction that these areas should be developed for the
> > well being of the communities. "When poets talk to me, those that I
> > may call ecologists living in outer space, those that are crashing in
> > the stratosphere, digressing up there without landing, then I am
> > concerned because one thing is what is ideal and the other what is
> > possible. I am President for four years and I can't digress a lot. And
> > even if I wanted or not, for reasons that be, there are two sectors
> > that are the motors of the economy and these are free zones and
> > tourism," said the President, as quoted in El Caribe. "I have to
> > guarantee that tourists continue to visit," he stated.
> >
> > 6. Samana senator says he will resubmit hotel development bill
> > The Senator for Samana Ramiro Espino said that if the Ministry of
> > Environment takes too long to submit the bill with the ruling of
> > development of protected areas, he would resubmit the bill the
> > President has requested be put aside. Espino feels Moya Pons has had
> > enough time to submit the bill. He backs the bill that would allow
> > hotel development of the Cabo Cabron National Park, seeing it as
> > beneficial for his province.
> >
>
>
> > DR1 Daily News -- Thursday, 15 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
>
> > 3. President Mejia halts planned hotel development in two parks
> > President Hipolito Mejia sent a letter to the Senate yesterday asking
> > for time to carry out studies into the ownership of property that is
> > part of two national parks and that he had segregated to allow hotel
> > development. The ownership of the properties is being debated by
> > interested parties in the courts.
> > In a letter to the president of the Senate, Ramon Alburquerque, the
> > President asks that the Senate put aside the bills that affect the
> > national parks of Cabo Cabron in Samana and Del Este in La Altagracia
> > province.
> > Furthermore, in the letter the President justifies the decree that
> > declares land within the Jaragua Natinal Park of public utility,
> > saying his intention was "to accelerate the process of use of lands
> > that have high tourism development potential."
> > The Presidential decrees and bills regarding the use of national park
> > land for tourism and sports development have met with widespread
> > opposition.
> > Finally, the President says that he favors a "calm revision" of the
> > Environment Law that he himself passed on 18 August 2000, particularly
> > the Article 34, Chapter III that establishes that this law and the
> > system of protected areas it encompasses cannot be modified until
> > Congress passes the Sectarian Bill for Protected Areas. This bill is
> > still being drafted. The President said it would soon be sent to
> > Congress.
> >
> > 5. US economy slowdown could be good news for hotels
> > The president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, Ramon
> > Prieto says that the slowdown of the US economy could turn into good
> > news for the DR hotel industry.
> > He said that if the US suffers from a recession, Americans will begin
> > to cut down on travel, and will prefer shorter vacations and
> > destinations that are closer to home, such as the DR. "In case that
> > happens, we could take advantage of the situation because we are near
> > to the US and we are a low-cost destination," said Prieto.
> > Prieto urged the start of an intense promotional campaign to promote
> > value-packed vacations to this market that will be demanding lower
> > cost travel products.
> > He spoke during a press conference to announce the Dominican Annual
> > Tourism Exchange (DATE), a marketplace to sell travel to the DR to US
> > travel re-sellers. DATE will be held 29-31 March at Casa de Campo, La
> > Romana.
> >
> > 9. Congress could award Higuero airport to Aerodom
> > Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas Maldonado told Hoy newspaper
> > that the government is sending to Congress an addendum to the
> > Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI contract to include another airport
> > in Santo Domingo and another in Samana.
> > Vargas said the government has concluded negotiations with Aerodom for
> > the later to finish and operate the Aeropuerto la Isabela in El
> > Higuero, north of Santo Domingo.
> > Aerodom has the concession for the operation of Las Americas
> > (Santo Domingo), Gregorio Luperon (Puerto Plata), Arroyo Barril
> > (Samana) and Maria Montez (Barahona) airports.
> > Aerodom wants to invest in building an airport in El Catey west of
> > Samana rather than making investments in the Arroyo Barril terminal,
> > as per their original contract.
> >
> > 10. Acting to avoid entrance of foot and mouth disease
> > Sanitary authorities announced the reinforcing of the sanitary alert
> > at ports and airports to avoid the entrance of the foot-and-mouth
> > disease. The virus has spread to the Middle East and to Argentina. The
> > UN is warning of a global threat from the disease and that no country
> > could consider itself safe from the risk.
> > The director of Cattleranching of the Ministry of Agriculture said
> > that meat imports from everywhere but the United States have been
> > banned. For more information on the virus and whom it affects, see
> > http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/UK/02/21/foot.mouth/index.html
> >
>
>
> > DR1 Daily News -- Wednesday, 14 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
> > 1. More National Park lands for hotel development
> > The Senate has under study a recently submitted bill that would
> > exclude eight million square meters from the Parque Nacional Cabo
> > Cabrón, a national park located in Samana, on the northeastern
> > coastline, as per Hoy newspaper today.
> > Hotel construction is banned by Environmental Law 64-00 law within
> > national park areas. President Mejia passed this law two days after
> > taking office. The new bill seeks to override this.
> > This would be the fourth park that the Mejia administration seeks to
> > mutilate. The other three are the National Park of the East, the
> > Jaragua National Park (Southwest) and the Mirador del Este Park (for
> > building Pan American Games sports venues).
> > The use of land within the national parks for hotel development has
> > met with widespread opposition from the press, environmental groups,
> > and even the National Hotel & Restaurant Association. Francisco
> > Jimenez Reyes, spokesman for the environment group of the Senate has
> > opened the floor to discussions.
>
> > 3. Fishing banned at Rincon Dam
> > Authorities banned fishing at Rincon Dam after hundreds of trout
> > appeared dead floating on the surface waters of the dam. The situation
> > affects several families that live off fishing. The same situation
> > occurred recently at Hatillo Dam in Cotuí. Other species are not
> > affected. The Ministry of Environment is investigating the matter.
> >
> > 5. Navy rescues 17 tourists at sea
> > The Navy rescued 17 Hungarian tourists when their small boat
> > overturned while they were on a whale-watching trip two miles off the
> > coast of Samana. Rear Admiral Luis Alberto Humeau Hidalgo, chief of
> > the Navy, said that because the boat was not overloaded and the
> > tourists heeded the requirement of using their life jackets while
> > onboard, no one was injured. The tourists were rescued at sea. The
> > boat overturned because of the turbulent sea.
> >
>
>
> > DR1 Daily News -- Tuesday, 13 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
> > 8. Petroleum spill spots boats at Santo Domingo Yacht Club
> > A spill of petroleum reached the Andrés, Boca Chica coastline spotting
> > yachts parked in the Santo Domingo Yacht Club. The Navy was alerted
> > and quickly went to work to remove 55 gallons of petroleum residuals,
> > employing brigades of 80 men at a time.
> > The petroleum stain alert coincided with the announced start of a
> > course by the Navy and the Clean Caribbean Cooperative (Mobex 2001)
> > that would train Dominican personnel to deal with this kind of
> > emergency. This course and its exercises are sponsored by the
> > Dominican Petroleum Refinery (a joint venture with Shell).
> > A Navy spokesman said the stain could have reached Dominican shores
> > because many times ships enter the area overloaded and discard the
> > excess in order to be able to enter the Port of Santo Domingo. He also
> > said that some ship captains of tankers, in violation of international
> > agreements, wash their tanks in the Mona Channel prior to returning to
> > Venezuela.
> >
>
>
> > DR1 Daily News - http://dr1.com
>
> > DR1 Daily News -- Thursday, 8 March 2001
>
> >
> > 6. President approves improvements for Sosua
> > El Siglo reports that President Hipolito Mejia met recently with a
> > commission from Sosua to discuss how the government could help boost
> > that community, probably the oldest tourism destination in the DR.
> > Spokesmen for Sosua were Herman Strauss, president of the Compañia
> > Industrial Lechera (Productos Sosua); William Kirkman, of Sea Horse
> > Ranch residential community, Mayor Edmundo Brown, among others. The
> > newspaper reports the President ordered the completion of the sewage
> > and rain water drainage systems. Likewise the construction of
> > dwellings for the occupants of the Los Tablones shacks town to go up
> > behind the apartments that originally were to have lodged these
> > people. Once constructed, the government distributed the dwellings to
> > others, not resolving the problem of the shack town along the beach.
> > Likewise, the government gave instructions for the paving of the
> > westbound Carretera Sabaneta-Puerto Plata, the streets of Sosua. News
> > reports indicate that 20 hotels have closed in Sosua. The closures are
> > also attributed to high operational costs, lack of money to renovate,
> > competition from newer all-inclusive resorts in the area, competition
> > from newer resorts in other areas of the North Coast and the DR,
> > vendor-packed Sosua beach, among other problems.
> >
>
>
> > DR1 Daily News -- Wednesday, 7 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
>
> > 7. Senate not likely to pass bill for more hotels in eastern park
> > Francisco Jimenez Reyes (PRD-Baoruco) says it is unlikely the Senate
> > will vote favorably on the bill sent by President Hipolito Mejia
> > regarding the use of National Park of the East land for hotel
> > development. Ecologists, newspaper editorial writers, the National
> > Hotel & Restaurant Association, and the Hotel Association of Bayahibe
> > have rejected the bill. Jimenez Reyes said that nevertheless, the
> > Senate would open the floor of the Senate so that the opposing and
> > supporting sector could present their views on the bill. For more
> > information on this bill, see
> > http://www.dr1.com/daily/news030601.shtml
> >
> > 8. Government eco tourism project for Bahia de las Aguilas
> > El Siglo newspaper reports having had access to an eco tourism project
> > developed by the Ministry of Environment for the Bahia de las Aguilas
> > beach area. The use of the area for hotel development has been debated
> > after President Hipolito Mejia issued a decree expropriating the area
> > for hotel development purposes. According to El Siglo, the Ministry of
> > Environment had developed the "Marco Conceptual para el Desarrollo de
> > la Zona de Uso Publico del Parque Nacional Jaragua en Bahia de las
> > Aguilas," a conceptual framework for the public use of the area. This
> > does not contemplate the construction of hotels. The Ministry is in
> > favor that hotels be located in Oviedo, Cabo Rojo and Pedernales. From
> > there tourists could make day trips to the paradise-like beach. For
> > more on the government's expropriation decree, see
> > http://www.dr1.com/daily/news022601.shtml The presidential decree has
> > been debated because it violates stipulations in Environment Law 64-00
> > signed by President Mejia himself on 18 August 2000, shortly after
> > taking office.
> >
> > 9. Ministry of Environment rescues La Caleta Indian Park
> > El Siglo reports that the National Park of La Caleta, located at the
> > entrance to the Las Americas International Airport, will soon reopen.
> > The Ministry has a budget for the renovation for RD$1.5 million of
> > which it has already received RD$500,000 for renovation works. Work
> > began in November in coordination with the Museum of Dominican Man and
> > the Ministry of Culture. The park contains the largest indian cemetery
> > in the country, with 36 tombs of Taino and Caribe indians, and
> > includes six skeletons.
> >
> > 12. Club Med celebrates 50th anniversary
> > Club Med invested US$36 million in a total renovation of its Punta
> > Cana Club Med on the East Coast of the DR. The renovation came in time
> > for the 50th anniversary of the French vacation club chain and for the
> > 20th anniversary of the Punta Cana resort itself. Few visitors to the
> > resort are aware that the Club Med Punta Cana was the hotel that put
> > the Punta Cana-Bavaro beach hotel strip on traveler's maps. DR1's
> > editorial director Dolores Vicioso and family were invited to take a
> > look at what's new at the resort. A full report on the hotel's new
> > facilities is featured at http://www.dr1.com/daily/clubmed2001.html
>
>
>
> > ********************************************************************
> > DR1 Daily News -- Tuesday, 6 March 2001
> > ********************************************************************
> > 10. Asonahores on tourism in North Coast
> > The vice president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association told
> > Hoy newspaper that government and private sectors need to take urgent
> > measures so that necessary investments be made to bolster the North
> > Coast travel. He said that the area is affected by a major financial
> > crisis, as owners of small hotels struggle to meet the present high
> > interest rates costs. He said that the increasing operational costs
> > are also affecting the small businessmen in the area. He said that
> > reports are that the flow of travel to the area has dropped 8% when
> > compared to previous years. The financial crisis has impeded some
> > small hotels that depend on walk ins and individual travelers to
> > upgrade and upkeep their facilities. He commented that Sosua hotels,
> > where reportedly 20 have closed, are facing competition from
> > all-inclusive operations that have opened in the same area. Puerto
> > Plata was the first tourism destination in the DR. The area is also
> > affected by internal competition from booming areas such as Punta
> > Cana-Bavaro in the East Coast. Villanueva commented that the
> > government sector could contribute much to improve the situation. He
> > said that an attempt of the Ministry of Tourism to clean up the
> > beaches of the North Coast, was met by opposition from politicians
> > that alleged that the vendors that occupy beach space should be
> > allowed to remain on the premises because they are "padres de familia"
> > (family bread-winners). He said that Minister of Armed Forces Jose
> > Miguel Soto Jimenez has instructed Tourism Police agents to proceed as
> > necessary seeking the improvement of the beaches. Also affecting the
> > area is internal politics and particular interests of municipal
> > sectors that have impeded the start of a World Bank project that would
> > build new infrastructure in the area. To assist small hotel owners,
> > Villanueva said that Minister of Tourism Ramon Alfredo Bordas has
> > given instructions so that small hotels can participate as a group, at
> > no cost or a very small cost, in international promotional fairs.
> >
> > 11. Hotel Association against building hotels in National Park of the
> > East
> > The National Hotel & Restaurant Association says that its official
> > position is to reject the construction of hotels at the limits of the
> > National Park of the East. President Mejia had authorized this by
> > decree, and later by a bill sent to Congress. As reported in El Siglo
> > newspaper, Asonahores said that the parks should be used to promote
> > sustainable tourism development, but does not favor developing any
> > area of the National Park of the East. Asonahores says there are
> > plenty of beach areas available for development. It mentions Playa
> > Grande in the North Coast and Los Corbanitos in the Southwest, both
> > government owned. The same article quotes Arlette Pichardo, director
> > of the environmental office, Pronatura, as rejecting the bill that is
> > at present in the Senate. Pichardo worked for years with the
> > International Center of Economic Policy of Costa Rica, prior to her
> > job with Pronatura. She highlighted the importance of competing with
> > high quality services. "If we use our resources unwisely, within five
> > or ten years we are not going to receive any travelers. We have to be
> > clear about what are the ties that have to be established between the
> > development of natural resources, preservation and the care of these
> > resources and tourism development," she said. She says that travelers
> > seek natural clean spaces and that to compete the country must offer
> > high quality services. "Within this framework is how tourism should be
> > understood," she said. "Travelers are not going to come because we
> > open mega projects on our beaches; travelers coming for sun and beach
> > seek clean natural spaces, not mass development."
>
Received on Sat Dec 22 14:58:40 2001