Welcome to HwnRadioMon, maybe the first Hawaiian poster on DR1. May the force be with you as you begin your stay in this land of the Spanish Caribbean.
May I, in some kind of way, hijack your welcome to address the deterministic statement by fellow poster Jeb321: “DR can not now ever compete with Hawaii.”
For starters, perfectly agree with previous posters who point out that travel is about experiencing diversity. It is about appreciating, not comparing. But could not help writing to disagree with Jeb321 when he says that the Dominican Republic cannot compete in tourism with Hawaii.
The DR for years has been competing, especially for the traveler from the US East Coast. Hawaii is close to me as I enjoyed much of what Jeb321 mentions when visiting Kauai, “the paradise island” in March of this 2017. I am not familiar with other Hawaiian islands.
Here are my thoughts…
Music… I loved the way Hawaiian music is piped all over. It was a lullaby for the senses. If only we could get people in the Dominican Republic to play more soft bachata…
Security… again, my experience was Kauai. Safety-wise, felt like I was in Casa de Campo or Punta Cana Resort & Club when driving around. No bars on windows there, very laid back.
Driving... the roads in Kauai were practically two-lanes (such as the Samana to Sánchez road), but there is no zig-zagging from lane to lane here, and people actually keep to consistent speeds of 50 miles or less. I had rented the car with full insurance, and on day two removed the extra insurance. Driving there was a no brainer. Here I recommend anyone who drives to purchase full insurance.
But to get to places on the island, the Dominican Republic can compete with Hawaii and is competing with Hawaii. The country's excellent roads make it easy to drive to one place and another. Waze and Google Maps make up for signage deficiencies. Driving in the tourist areas is doable here by car rental, or commuter bus. For the congested cities, there is Uber or many other very efficient taxi services. The tourism industry is set up for groups, and big buses take tourists quickly to their tour destinations.
And remember, here you have a variety of destinations, each with their own worthwhile attractions – Santo Domingo, Samana, La Romana, Barahona, Jarabacoa, Constanza, Santiago, La Vega, Bonao, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana… all easily connected by ground transport. To commute in Hawaii you need to pay for expensive airlift.
Hotel rooms… Hawaii is a very old tourism destination; the DR is relatively new. In the 1990s, Hawaii already had 57,000 hotel rooms, back then the DR had around 10,000 hotel rooms. Hawaii still has the same 57,000 hotel rooms. Air travel to Hawaii is up to 8.5M in 2016. Travel to the DR has grown consistently. In 2007 there were 3.9M air arrivals. In 2016, the number had risen to 5.9M air arrivals.
Today, in the Dominican Republic there are over 70,000 hotel rooms; tourism is growing past the 6-million tourist mark; most of these are US travelers. Hawaii learned early not to depend on one country for travelers and has diversified attracting Japanese, Australian, South Korean, Chinese and Taiwan tourists. The DR also learned early to diversify markets and hotels make sure they allot rooms to a variety of tour operators from diverse destinations for the same reasons. Tourists come from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America.
The DR has an open skies policy, the main reason for the boom in Dominican tourism. Every year new airlines begin to fly here, or others have added frequencies. The open skies policy has made the difference. It is relatively easy to get here and easy to plan a multi-destination vacation.
The Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) has the most diverse airlift in the Caribbean, and Punta Cana International should be at least in the top 3 airports for the Latin American and Caribbean region. Diversity of source markets and traffic is growing consistently.
Location, location, location. We can compete because of location. The DR is a 4-hour flight or less from most east coast destinations in the US, the main travel market. It is a no-brainer to get on a flight to get here for a long weekend, versus around a 12-hour flight to Hawaii.
We can compete in swimmable beaches, the main draw to Hawaii and the Caribbean. The country’s many fine sand beaches and the turquoise color of the waters (characteristic of the Caribbean) makes for better swimming and photographs than the Kauai’s southern beaches, said to be the best in Kauai. I stayed at the Sheraton Kauai and was told it had the best beach on the island. I doubted it and went looking around the island. It was the best beach. No comparison to many many beaches in Punta Cana, La Romana, Puerto Plata, Samana…
Dominican hotels cost much less and deliver more. Again, at the hotel where I stayed, the Kauai Sheraton, conference rate was US$400 for a double room that included two cups of coffee to be brewed in the room. In addition an activities rate of US$30 each was added to the bill for a daily rate of more than US$460 (conference group rate), regardless of whether one did activities or not. The activities were limited. Of these, just did a yoga class. My sister, who was there for a medical conference, got nothing for her obligatory US$30 a day resort charge. For that kind of money you can get a big suite at a 5-star resort with all meals, drinks and bunch of activities included.
I doubt overall the quality of the hotel rooms in Hawaii can compare to those at the Punta Cana resorts, or even those in La Romana. By Dominican resort standards, the Kauai Sheraton was a three-star hotel charging a five-star price. From what I read, the hotel capacity in Hawaii, under 60,000 hotel rooms, has not changed over more than a decade or two and it shows. No comparison with the contemporary decor and large sizes of many rooms at the resorts in Punta Cana.
Shopping... again, in Kauai, at one of the largest shopping centers, one of the best jewelry shops, if not the best had its largest display dedicated to Larimar jewelry. The good news is that they tell you when you enter the store that the stone comes from Barahona, in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, actually the only place where the stone is found. The store sold lovely jewelry made with the Dominican stone using their designs.
In Kauai, expats have taken over the goods and services and they do good. They make and bake foods using locally grown fruits and vegetables. There are many who have moved from continental US and engage in multiple small business, especially in the food and wellness business, pushing authentic Hawaiian products.
Weather… Hawaii can get cold by Dominican standards, more Florida-kind weather. With the exception of tropical rains, weather in the DR is good for touring and beach-going all year round.
Value for money. There is no comparison. I would think that what happens in Kauai is true for other Hawaiian destinations. Everything there is expensive. Tourism prices here are 25% or 50% less. And it is not that Punta Cana and the rest of the Dominican Republic is cheap, it is that Hawaii is expensive even by US standards.
Yes, the DR can be chaotic. There are now more than 10M people living on the island’s 48,000 sq. km. And that number does not take into consideration the hundreds of thousands of tourists at any given time, and the thousands of immigrant laborers. Hawaii has it easier. Only 1.4 M people live on the 28,000 square km of Hawaiian islands and they do not have a poor neighbor. But there are a lot of people working in the DR to make the living and visiting experience better and this is showing.
Summing up… for quality of beaches (unless one is a surfer), variety of excursions, water sports, kids vacations, rest and relaxation, quality and variety of hotel rooms, weather, and less airlift time if coming from eastern US, the DR bests Hawaii. Hawaii is USA, so there is the “comfort zone” factor. But travel is about going out of the comfort zone to appreciate the different experience. The DR is never boring, and yes, it is competing, and doing well.