This got me looking at the numbers...Wow!

I find it curious that the DR's reputation as a vacation destination is one of economy... meaning the perception is that it is an affordable holiday.

Yet your research shows that the per capita vacation dollar spent is higher than other destinations.

Could that be because when measuring the expenditures, it is an "all inclusive" expenditure in the DR.?
Most other destinations offer a different product... namely a room and possibly a breakfast - not "the whole enchilada".
That would explain the high number.

This must be the case, b/c the DR holiday is an affordable one and it is that affordability that attracts the large volume of visitors.

Affordable vacation + all-inclusive = higher expenditure per visitor + many visitors.
It is a very good recipe that has been disguised or underappreciated by the populace.

Your numbers don't lie..... and should be good for the country

WW

william webster said:

I
Affordable vacation + all-inclusive = higher expenditure per visitor + many visitors.
It is a very good recipe that has been disguised or underappreciated by the populace.

Click to expand...

A few questions...

1) Forget expenditure. What is the average US$ yield on those tourists?
Is it trending up or down?

2) How much money "actually" flows directly into the economy when
you remove the low paid labor component?

3) Who controls mass tourism in the DR?
Is it the Government or is it the tour operators?

4) Is the current toursim model sustainable, both economically and Environmentally?

william webster said:

Your numbers don't lie..... and should be good for the country

WW

Click to expand...

Numbers always lie. This is nice to hear but the stats are skewed because they dont exclude the other country in the Caribbean with a population and presence similar or greater to the DR. And that has always been my reservation when comparing these "stats". They dont consider the Americans who want to go to Cuba but have to go through either Jamaica, Aruba, Venezuela or Mexico to do so. What would the number be were there direct flights there from JFK, MIA, PHL, DCA?
What projections can be made as to who will be "king of the Caribbean" when the US economic embargo against Cuba finally falls. Is the tourism market in the DR that sustainable that it can weather a blow that big? You cant be 90 miles off the coast of Florida and think they ll just come to DR now because they have in the past. Especially when the distance in air miles is the same from the same large cities in the US or Europe. And all those old Colonial style houses on the Habana waterfront plus other scenic areas will become resort-like, nightlife centric and tourist friendly. Who wouldnt want the $1Billion contracts to build an international airport in every large city and beach town in Cuba?
I understand how places like El Salvador and Guatamala clearly lose out on tourist amenities. But places like Panama, Belize, and Costa Rica can present be a better bargain for those travellers who live on the West Coast of the US and Canada.

Lets end the Cuba stuff right now. It will just drag the thread in the wrong direction.

The questions people should be asking.

1) What is more important? Tourist numbers or US$ yield per tourist?
I think most hotel operators will tell you the numbers are going up, but the yield is going down.

2) How does the DR and Dominicans in general benefit from AI tourism?
Other than low paid jobs and some service industries.

3) What happens when DR hotel operators cannot afford to accept the very low buy rates tour operators offer? It's a tour operator driven market, they dictate who comes on vacation here, not the Government.

4) According to some, the east coast is an environmental nightmare, due to rampant construction and lack of planning. Combine this with declining yield, very little flow into the local economy and you have the ingredients of a BIG problem.

All food for thought...

1) What is more important? Tourist numbers or US$ yield per tourist?
I think most hotel operators will tell you the numbers are going up, but the yield is going down.

This squeeze started back in the early 90s, when tour companies recognized the overproduction of hotel rooms.

2) How does the DR and Dominicans in general benefit from AI tourism?
Other than low paid jobs and some service industries.

They don't. Most benefits flow offshore.

3) What happens when DR hotel operators cannot afford to accept the very low buy rates tour operators offer? It's a tour operator driven market, they dictate who comes on vacation here, not the Government.

Hotels will deteriorate, because there is no money for maintenance. Only the new hotels will make money--temporarily, until they fall victim to the same squeeze.

4) According to some, the east coast is an environmental nightmare, due to rampant construction and lack of planning. Combine this with declining yield, very little flow into the local economy and you have the ingredients of a BIG problem.

AI owners are hit and run operators. Their buildings will deteriorate along with the coastlines they clear of mangroves. Beaches will disappear.

An added question - could we have a link for the statistics quoted in the original post please? It clearly wasn't the Dominican Today article...

Robert said:

Lets end the Cuba stuff right now. It will just drag the thread in the wrong direction.

The questions people should be asking.

1) What is more important? Tourist numbers or US$ yield per tourist?
I think most hotel operators will tell you the numbers are going up, but the yield is going down.

2) How does the DR and Dominicans in general benefit from AI tourism?
Other than low paid jobs and some service industries.

3) What happens when DR hotel operators cannot afford to accept the very low buy rates tour operators offer? It's a tour operator driven market, they dictate who comes on vacation here, not the Government.

4) According to some, the east coast is an environmental nightmare, due to rampant construction and lack of planning. Combine this with declining yield, very little flow into the local economy and you have the ingredients of a BIG problem.

All food for thought...

Click to expand...

My point about Cuba wasnt about stats, it was merely about competition. And how the DR is braced to deal with competition.

1. Yield is more desirable but hospitality businesses are suffering all over. Never been to an all inclusive but I guess it offer a packages similar to Busch Gardens or DisneyWorld or Colonial Williamsburg. Where the fare includes lodging and meals for your family and all you have to do is secure transportation to the destination. Besides I think the greatest bounty of visitors maybe Europeans. Economic turmoil in the US may keep some folks at home(going to WallyWorld)

2. IN general, I think there may be some money bleeding from the tourist who wants to escape the resort and see the local economy. There are some jobs created in the construction(skilled, semi-skilled labor) and transportation of building materials for the hotels. Not considering WU remittances nor sankies, it also gives those(who can manage it), an ability to learn a foreign language to enhance employment opportunities.
Besides A job is better than NO job in the local economy. Yea they pay peanuts but its something. What would they be doing had the hotel not been built? Banana, sugar and tobacco farming is a tough job.

3. Self explanatory. You will operate at a loss. Which means you have to cut corners in the easiest places, in labor. My example? Vegas. The old hotels not on the strip have no draw so you either offer things like $2 breakfast buffets or free long distance to book the room. But you know they are only staying there not playing there.

4. Self initiated debacles. They built the airport and the resorts before they built the highways. There is no reason in a country this size it should take 8 hours to get from Punta Cana to La Vega. There should be eminent domain to get an easement to make a straight cut 5 lane highway to connect all large cities. I personally think the highway will be more useful than some fancy schmancy hotel everywhere.

Ecotourism, music and ethical tourism

Instead of highways, think mangroves, national parks, and most important--education. In Cuba, the tourist is guided by well educated men and women who are licensed to work in this area. Working with tourists is a privilege to be earned.
And I almost forgot, music. AI's offer the most awful pseudo Vegas stage shows. Puerto Plata, Santiago, Santo Domingo, all have rich musical heritages in bachata, meringue, and local geniuses like Puerto Plata, who have to come to the States to play.
I have often been accused of negativity. My challenge to you is to look at the natural and cultural treasures of Hispanola (including Haiti). Respect them, and they will pay you back many times over.

Gabriela: You have to consider who the audience is. The AI tourist likes those pseudo Vegas stage shows and they probably wouldn't appreciate much the richness of a Perico Ripiao or Merengue.

While it is good that tourism continues to employ a large number of people, The DR sorely needs to use this time to diversify into other industries that will eventually sustain the economy when Tourism falls and we all know it will eventually. It is such a fickle industry and so easily affected y a number of things some of which we cannot control that to depend on it as one of the largest components of a country's economy is foolish at best.

I do see some diversification within the tourist industry happening right now. It is moving, albeit very slowly, into a higher yield, more boutique type of tourism but that's not enough IMO.

The DR needs to take a page from Singapore and use it's strategic location to its advantage. For instance we could become a huge transshipment hub (we already kind of are, but for the wrong type of product). We could use lessons learned from many smaller European countries that don't have a lot of natural resources and have found a niche (i.e. Switzerland and it's finance industry). We need to find our niche and diversify the rest beyond rum and cigars.

Tourism is not going to DIE. Demographics show us that it is here to stay.

HOWEVER it will shift, change and morph and tourism HERE will go down if we don't keep up.

The AI model is not our economic friend. Any and all profits go offshore. Any and all cost cutting happens onshore.

Tour Operators - while they are struggling they are getting what they deserve. Imagine holding both tourists and excursion operators hostage by charging 40% and more commission on each and every excursion sale??????

Tourists in the AI don't often leave the resort - for a lot of reasons! They are not spending as much money outside the resort as they used to, either on excursions or on their own.

One thing the government can do is offer incentives to developers / resorts / hotels to deviate from the AI model!!!! Bottom line is they are interested in their OWN bottom line.

greydread said:

How do you figure that?

According to the map Belize, Panama and Costa Rica are awfully close to Florida...not much close to CA than Jamaica.


https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/maps/bh_largelocator_template.html

Click to expand...

Keep it 100% Dominican related or it's deleted.

greydread said:

Excellent point. Improving the ports system would definitely help to expand not only tourism but cargo shipping opportunities and I think they might be thinking along those lines. We'll see how they manage port development in the capital before judging.

If it all works out it will help to pay for all the stuff we sell them.

CAFTA-DR State Export Overview

Click to expand...

Talking of port management... San Souci (private company) that owns and runs the port in Santo Domingo, never envisaged they would also be handling destination management as well. They have what is regarded as one the best port facilities in the Caribbean, attached to a badly managed destination.

This is why they have had problems attracting cruise ships.
This is why they had to invest in cleaning up the streets, fixing the roads etc that lead from the port to the Colonial Zone. The list goes on!

Private business has been the driver in the Colonial Zone, not the Government. They have a Metro to build, people to pay, perks to cover and ridiculous Dinosaur parks to build. They have no long term vision, planning and worse, no will to make a difference.

Look no further than the Colonial Zone and the Malecon, it's a mess.
Lack of repairs, lighting, dirty etc. It should be the jewel of Santo Domingo and bustling, but it's not.

They need to take a look at Cartagena (Colombia) to see how a well managed destination with a Colonial Zone can work hand in hand with a port
to develop a steady stream of cruise ships.

Class and respect

Sosua in the 80s welcomed a first rate clientele that included the Dutch royal family and Julio Iglesias. People like my late uncle, Thomas Philipp, protected the mahogany trees, the beach, and built with local materials. They hired people of integrity to work in their hotels (or thought they were). They served local produce, dairy, baked goods and delicatessen (thanks to Productos Sosua). Sosua had a unique opportunity to become a 1st class place. Now, perhaps only Samana still has that opportunity.
By the way, who was looking for some historical photos of the DR? I have hundreds.

Ok, Gabriela and I m presuming you re going to say the airport ruined it? Once they had an international airport then the hotels came and so did the seedy nightlife?