Cuba has a lot of untouched, beautiful land. I'll take the capitalists and hotel chains, thanks.
I've been outdoors camping and hunting since I was a child. Personally, I find it amazing how little there is for an outdoor person like me to do here. In order to access a decent place to camp in the mountains, one must have a helicopter. The last road I took through the mountains, the one that connects Constanza to San Jose de Ocoa, nearly got me and my girl killed. When I ask a Dominican about camping, they say, "You want to sleep outside? Why?? That amazes me considering how much beautiful land there is here to camp on. I personally would love a few options like hotels, campgrounds, and even a large resort with a paved road going to it.
As far as the
evil foreign hotel chains go, what country are you from? I'm sure any of the local DR hotel chains would enjoy capitalizing on the parks as much as any foreign company. Why does the word foreign have to be involved? I am a foreign business owner here in the DR, and I won't even throw a cigarette out of the window. Are you a foreigner that is living here? Did you ever consider that if you and I weren't here, and that if foreigners like ourselves STAYED AWAY, then there would be no talk of building hotels in parks.
Also, I have watched EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK be eaten away piece by piece by the sugar producers and land developers in Florida. If you think our park system in the US is protecting the US environment, you must be kidding. If Trump wanted to rename it "EVERTRUMP NATIONAL PARK", believe me he would and could. US national parks represent less than 1/2% of the land, and less than .02% of the shoreline (obtained from
http://www.sierraclub.com/). Also, the eastern US was a solid tree-line from the east coast all the way to the Mississippi when we Europeans arrived. Ever seen the old movies of the logs rolling down the Miss? The US is a bad example of a good environmentalism my friend.