Santo Domingo - tourist destination?

[Yayow]

It's all about the marketing; baby

You are right about Punta Cana, and the number of tourist that go there, but that has more to do with marketing, etc. that the big Corps. that own and run the A.I.'s in Punta Cana put out there. I know when I used to live in the States, and would get on the travel sites for destinations, for my vacation dollar, Punta Cana was the place that came up, no doubt about it. It also was much cheaper, as they were able to subsidize your flight and your stay, of course that is all about good marketing, the same as Vegas does it, first let me get you there (make it affordable and attractive), and once you are there, I will get into your pocket.

Also we all realize that once you are there it is to the benefit of the A.I.'s to keep you there and have you spend your dollars there, thus all the stories of how dangerous it is to step off the A.I.'s property. God forbid you found out that Santo Domingo or other places had many things to offer as far as your vacation. Can't blame them if I took less money to get you there, when you are there I would do whatever I could to make sure you stayed there and spent your money there.

Most don't find out about Santo Domingo, Santiago etc. until they have spent some time in the Country and have been around a bit, and under stand the culture a bit and language. So having said this I believe your statistics will remain the same, because it is to the benefit of those with the most money to keep it that way.

 

[mountainannie]

tourists, residents, visitors

I was actually startled to see that SD was second in foreign arrivals. I am sure that many if not most of these are either business or returning Dominicans.

However, my point was also directed to the expats who live out in the Beach communities and only come to the Capital to do their business with the State and-or perhaps some shopping ... and do not, for instance, stay for the weekend, go to a museum, take in a ball game, a carriage ride through the Zona, a concert at Bellas Artes....... It just seems that you are selling the country short when you don't include the Capital as part of the perks of the country.

One of the great pluses that the DR has is that it is a nation, not just a small sand spit completely dependent on tourism.

 

[dulce]

In the 90's, before PC had resorts, Santo Domingo was advertised as a tourist destination. The companies such as Apple,GWV,and others advertised Juan Dolio and Boca Chica as Santo Domingo. The first time I went to Juan Dolio I thought I was in SD. DUH The tour reps all promoted SD day tours.They went to the cave disco,Columbus lighthouse, the Cathedral,Colonial Zone and shopping with lunch included.
Most flights landed at SDQ and then buses took tourists on long bus rides to thier real destinations.
SD still has large arrival numbers because sometimes the flights are cheaper or the only one available. People fly into SDQ but travel to other destinations upon arrival.

 

[NALs]

In the 90's, before PC had resorts, Santo Domingo was advertised as a tourist destination. The companies such as Apple,GWV,and others advertised Juan Dolio and Boca Chica as Santo Domingo. The first time I went to Juan Dolio I thought I was in SD. DUH The tour reps all promoted SD day tours.They went to the cave disco,Columbus lighthouse, the Cathedral,Colonial Zone and shopping with lunch included.
Most flights landed at SDQ and then buses took tourists on long bus rides to thier real destinations.
SD still has large arrival numbers because sometimes the flights are cheaper or the only one available. People fly into SDQ but travel to other destinations upon arrival.

They still do that.

Plus, its also done with the Punta Cana tourists. Little do they know that the only times they are in the real Punta Cana is when they are at the airport!

Santo Domingo needs a nice long white sand beach. Once that is in place, the rest will follow.

 

[London_Calling]

Santo Domingo has the potenial to be tourist destination in its own rght - but some care is needed in publicising it else tourists are going to be disappointed. The colonial zone is the USP but except for the cathedral most of the churches are closed.

"SANTO DOMINGO is a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE site" "FILLED with colonial architecture" - true but only realy applies to a very small part of the city and even then it does not compare against Havana, San Juan, Quito, etc.

Best to think of it as a good weekend break - and build on that.

 

[mountainannie]

Zona bigger than San Juan

I think that the Zona is bigger than the colonial district in San Juan.Have not been to Havana. But there is more than the Cathedral open-- at least one other.

For Americans, whose idea of old is 1700, SD can be really a taste of Europe. As another poster said, it is all in the packaging....

I often think of how gorgeous it would be if there were some way of getting all the dangling wires off the streets...and it is much cleaner now that they have posted trash pick up times.

I can"t imagine a beach here with all the trash and sewage run off.... yeuch. There are a couple of little sand areas where some of the locals swim but with the run off from the Ozama, it is pretty gross.

If they got some of the big trucks off the Malecon.. or at the VERY least got some way of having people cross the street without being killed... THAT would be a great thing.

And I know that at least the Primavera section of Gazcue has a number of colonials that cannot be torn down but somehow the people here do not seem to value them.... many are run down or just abandoned

 

[London_Calling]

One of the good things IMO of SD over San Juan is not it is not yet over restored.

"And I know that at least the Primavera section of Gazcue has a number of colonials that cannot be torn down but somehow the people here do not seem to value them.... many are run down or just abandoned "


Agree - they should also not just concentrate on the Spanish colonial period -Santo Domingo has some impressive Art Deco buildings that should be maintained better + others from the 19th century (not strictly colonial).

 

[greydread]

dos centavos

For my money there is something very primal about Santo Domingo which has attracted me since my first visit. Born & raised NYC (just North of Mt. Morris park) the place has a flavor that reminds me of the old neighboorhod back in the 60's, complete with familiar sights and sounds and smells of my childhood. Santo Domingo, roughly the size of Philly is full of commerce and attempts at modernization in some areas and stuck in time in others. There is always excitement in the air and one's radar gets a good workout as you never know who you'll meet or what their angle will be.

The beaches are close enough so that's not really an issue from my perspective. I've been to the aquarium, zoo, botanical garden and just about every other attraction in the city and they're all unique from others in other countries as they are very "Dominican". By that I mean that in the very complimentary sense that you never know exactly what to expect on any given day and there's never a dull moment. I've been to many cities in many countries in the six continents I've travelled to and Santo Domingo ranks right up there with my favorites. I recommend it.

 

[Robert]

Santo Domingo has never been a great tourist destination, one of the main reasons for that, tourists had no clue what to do or what was going on.

I'm glad to say, that has recently changed.

dr1guide | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic

Ask your hotel for the printed version, its FREE and being distrubuted all over Santo Domingo.

 

[jalencastro]

i've got mine!

Santo Domingo has never been a great tourist destination, one of the main reasons for that, tourists had no clue what to do or what was going on.

I'm glad to say, that has recently changed.

dr1guide | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic

Ask your hotel for the printed version, its FREE and being distrubuted all over Santo Domingo.

Picked my copy up in Gazcue! GOOD JOB Robert and the DR1 Team!

 

[greydread]

Downloaded the PDF...WOW!

I wish I had a guide this complete 18 trips ago.

This was truly a 1st Rate effort that resulted in a 1st rate product!

Nice work.

 

[dulce]

Nals
In the Boston area now they advertise the south of the island as "The Sun Coast" No mention of SD at all in the adds.
What they offer is Dreams in La Romona, once in a great while Hamaca in Boca Chica or Capella in JD.
VERY seldom is "The Sun Coast" offered at all. The promotions are 98% Punta Cana.
Once in a great while Puerta Plata is offered. So.... Unless the tourist is familar with the DR they would not even know about anything except Punta Cana.

 

[bob saunders]

The DR1 guide is where I read about Barra Pay?n. We bought some sandwiches before we headed off to Barahona and they were excellent, well worth the money.

 

[Yayow]

Nals
In the Boston area now they advertise the south of the island as "The Sun Coast" No mention of SD at all in the adds.
What they offer is Dreams in La Romona, once in a great while Hamaca in Boca Chica or Capella in JD.
VERY seldom is "The Sun Coast" offered at all. The promotions are 98% Punta Cana.
Once in a great while Puerta Plata is offered. So.... Unless the tourist is familar with the DR they would not even know about anything except Punta Cana.

Exactly my earlier point, tourists at least from the States, don't hear anything about Santo Domingo, it is almost exclusively about Punta Cana and that area, if I wasn't married to a Dominican the first time I came here there would have been no way I would of spent time in Santo Domingo.

The greater Santo Domingo Dept. of Tourism needs to address that and put some money into promoting Santo Domingo as a tourist destination if they want this to change.

 

[NALs]

I often think of how gorgeous it would be if there were some way of getting all the dangling wires off the streets...

That is a work in progress, slow progress, but in progress none-the-less.

I can"t imagine a beach here with all the trash and sewage run off.... yeuch. There are a couple of little sand areas where some of the locals swim but with the run off from the Ozama, it is pretty gross.

Well, get used to the idea because its part of the malec?n redesign plans already in execution. The first stage was the remodeling of the Eugenio Mar?a de Hostos park, the park across the street (the one with those multicolored boxes that no one knows what they are for), the painting of the obelisk to its original white color.

The second stage includes redesigning the stretch between Lincoln (well now its MLK) ave and the obelisk, including the creation of a median, new fancy lights, more palms along the sidewalks and in the new median), a parking lane on the north side and bicycle lanes on the south side, expansion of the seaside sidewalk, and improving G?ibia Beach.

The new marina the Sans Souci project will create next to the Plaza Juan Bar?n includes a redesign of the outlet of the river which supposedly will cause the residue to flow deeper into the sea, not affecting the coast and the new beach.

The current sewers jutting out of the malec?n will be eliminated.

The third stage includes de 30 de Mayo highway section from the Lincoln intersection all the way to the first overpass by the Grupo Le?n Jimenes headquarters.

If they got some of the big trucks off the Malecon.. or at the VERY least got some way of having people cross the street without being killed... THAT would be a great thing.

That is also in the Malec?n redesign plans, however the trucks will be prohibited for certain hours in he morning and afternoon/evenings, as well as on Sundays.

Oh man, I'm not suppose to know this stuff before people living in SD!!!!! Silly me!!!! (Me poking fun at DR1ers and their fallacies, um quirks). :cheeky:

 

[bigbird]

Santo Domingo has the potenial to be tourist destination in its own rght.........................Best to think of it as a good weekend break - and build on that.

That is about the size of it. Anything more than a long weekend in Santo Domingo I think the average tourist would get bored.

 

[NALs]

That is about the size of it. Anything more than a long weekend in Santo Domingo I think the average tourist would get bored.

Unless there is a beach.

The biggest problem for the Caribbean is that people don't really travel there for culture. Maybe Havana was/is the only exception to that rule, but everywhere else the beach is the attraction and everything else is just coincidental.

Look at San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its Condado Beach is man-made and not particularly the most impressive/beautiful beach in the Caribbean, but its a beach and it attracts (in conjunction with Isla Verde beach) and keeps the bulk of the tourists.

Visiting the sights in Old San Juan and in Condado/Isla Verde/Hato Rey areas of San Juan are a type of excursion away from the main and only true attraction, the beach.

Santo Domingo lacks a beach and thus, lacks the appeal. It has everything (perhaps more) that San Juan has as far as tourist offerings is concerned, but the lack of a beach makes the biggest difference.

SD is now beginning to become an important cruiseship port-of-call, but it needs a beach (or two, the coast in Santo Domingo Este is ripped for a beach as well).

 

[bigbird]

Unless there is a beach...............

I believe we both know that will never happen.

 

[NALs]

I believe we both know that will never happen.

Santo Domingo has the Metro that was never going to be built, so I think never is a long time.

Let's leave it at it may or may not be done, but chances are it will be done if they follow through with the rest of the malec?n projects. And that being a big project in the Capital, sooner or later it will probably be done.

As for when? Eh...

 

[London_Calling]

I don't understand this fixation with Santo Domingo needing a beach. If people want a beach they would and can go to Puerta Plata or Punta Cana or Samana. Better spending the money on fixing up the Zona Colonial and encouraging more businesses/facilities that would attract a weekend break type crowd as you fnd all over Europe. They would at least spend money in the Zona.