Why is Tourism Minister removing Las Terrenas beach bars??

susan77 said:

I just heard that ALL of Las Terrenas' beachfront bars are being removed by the Minister of Tourism, Elsa de Leon-- Does anyone have more details such as WHY they're being removed??

Click to expand...

In Long Beach Puerta Plata they were removed because they were squatters.

Perhaps an election on the horizon? There will be significant government publicity marketing that will surround the infrastructure upgrades that are going on in Samana that includes Las Terrenas. This could be a reason for the timing. The strikes against the toll booth will soon be a simple distraction to real government meddling. My guess is Las Terrenas is in for big changes that are just starting. There have been a large number of other changes that have gone relatively unreported.

Is that toll booth functioning yet?
It was almost finished at the end of July.
What's the toll..... anybody know?

There is another strike against the toll booth scheduled for tomorrow. I heard the glass was going in so it is close to completion. There was a comment somewhere of maybe a 100RD toll and that would seem to fit in with the established toll booth pricing.

Gordon said:

Perhaps an election on the horizon? There will be significant government publicity marketing that will surround the infrastructure upgrades that are going on in Samana that includes Las Terrenas. This could be a reason for the timing. The strikes against the toll booth will soon be a simple distraction to real government meddling. My guess is Las Terrenas is in for big changes that are just starting. There have been a large number of other changes that have gone relatively unreported.

Click to expand...

What kind of changes ?

AlterEgo said:

They've been threatening the same exact thing at Playa Najayo on the south shore....for years....haven't touched any of them.

Same story as belmont's - squatters.

AE

Click to expand...

At Playa Grande, the number of food shacks has been greatly reduced by the new project group there.
Word has it that they bought out several of them.

Those vendors are 'tagged' so there must be license process.

Nothing like that exists in LT ??

william webster said:

Is that toll booth functioning yet?
It was almost finished at the end of July.
What's the toll..... anybody know?

Click to expand...

Are you talking about the ones on the SDQ to samana highway? the last toll i think is 180rd or so. 1 way from sdq to nagua was about 500rd worth of tolls....

The new toll booth and additional toll is at the entrance to Samana by El Catey airport. You would not have to pay anything extra if you are heading to Nagua, only to Samana

No beachfront bars?? Can I 'byob'?

If it's got anything to do with that idiot Cesar de los Santos, the supposed minister of tourism for the North. If there's nothing in it for him, he'll shut you down.

Africaida said:

What kind of changes ?

Click to expand...

Well Africaida it is difficult to be specific in this country with any kind of guarantees. Out of many statements some will come true. We do know there is a super highway from a large population base headed to relatively undiscovered beauty and a whale destination favourite chosen by the whales themselves. They must know something.

They have suggested 15,000 tourist accommodation rooms is a target. Water aquaducts and sewage treatment plants and a large influence from European technology and investment will certainly drive certain changes. They are improving the private school system and keeping the beaches cleaner. The new airport El Catey alone will begin to show lots of changes to tourist arrival methods. There are lots of excellent restaurants and bakeries already in place and the community is working very hard to bring festivals and entertainment ideas to the area.

With growth comes a lot of pain. I am sorry for the beach bars and their loss today but overall it is most likely a sign that things are improving. Las Terrenas has a brand new town hall that brings a lot of pride to the area. With a town hall there will have to be an increase in government interference to support it. Hopefully it will be balanced with common sense and the pain will balance out the good it will bring. I know that regardless of what takes place it will negatively affect the existing poverty and I hope the new money does not forgot the ones that were here before their arrival.

I even had to pay a fee at the dump for a change although not very well organized yet.

Thanks Gordon !

I just hope that LT keeps its small town flavor and doesn't become Punta Cana clone (kinda selfish I know). I have a feeling it is the beginning of the end, but I hope I am wrong.

Can't wait to visit at the end of the year!

I look forward to your visit. It will not change that much by then and will likely always have the small town flavor in Las Terrenas. I do not know much about Punta Cana but my several brief visits did not bring me to a warm and cosy feeling mostly as I do not like the arid feel and the lack of vegetation was noticeable to me. I am also not a golfer so that aspect brings me no comfort. LT is bordering on a rain forest and has such lush vegetation and personally I would not trade the humidity and its affect my health. Just with the history of the town and the way the coast is laid our from the mountains would suggest to me the LT portion will always remain a small town flavor. Not likely to clone

Over the past 3-4 years, LT has been preparing.... new curbs and gutters and even sewer system I think.

Evry bank in the country has a new building in place, as do the retail gas stations.

The adjacent airport and road system (as Gordon points out) are no accident..... somebody has a plan here.

There certainly is an abundance of scenic property ....

Is this what Jean Claude Killy envisioned??

Quoted from another local forum news source; (I would have "linked" it but don't think it's allowed.) ( ? )

"Elsa de Leon, deputy minister of tourism in the area, said the MITUR decided to carry out this operation after asking during several weeks to the owners of these infrastructures to regularize their situation."

"In fact, the Dominican law states that no permanent structure can be built within 60 meters from the shoreline, except when the owners obtains a special permit, as for the fishermen village."

"The Dominican Navy is in charge of enforcing this 60 meters rule in the country, while in tourist areas, the Tourism Ministry becomes the competent authority. According to Ms. de Le?n, numerous letters were sent to restaurants and bars that had structures on the beach. She explained that in order to act in accordance with the law, everything that is installed on the beach must be removed at night (umbrellas, tables, chairs), and, therefore, any semi-permanent structure is illegal."

Thats interesting..... and makes some sense.... unlike many things Dominican !!

You would think that existing structures would be exempt.
The law states that they are....

Unfortunately none of these were existing as is the case of the fisherman's village. Those in question have all been built up in the last year or two max.
Question is did Ms Leon really have an ongoing dialog with all these folks ?. It's sad as these small bars on the beach add a lot of charm to the area and it's what the tourists like. Meanwhile, a couple of kms down the beach you have Balcones which has a giant fixed structure inside the 60 meters and that seems to be okay. Money talks perhaps.