Chinese tourism

I don't think DR is an "Approved destination", whatever that means. DR has diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which puts it in a very awkward position with China. I do think that as much good as Taiwan has been to DR, it's time to do something about it. It might be rude to Taiwan, but DR needs China much more than Taiwan needs DR.

China has a huge population and many citizens with cash flow who want to travel. Yes, this is a huge untapped market and the DR could certainly use the additional tourist dollars. Every country wants a piece of the China pie. I am sure the DR is looking at this country and salivating.

LTSteve

LTSteve said:

China has a huge population and many citizens with cash flow who want to travel. Yes, this is a huge untapped market and the DR could certainly use the additional tourist dollars. Every country wants a piece of the China pie. I am sure the DR is looking at this country and salivating.

LTSteve

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In order to have that huge pie, DR have to offer more then sex. That huge spending comes from the purchasing power from women wanting a products that is original not fake mainland made stuff or vast population interests like Korean soap operas tour. DR must find something other then Sex to offer perhaps more investment and advertisment to it's golf course is needed.

I was getting my nails done in Puerto Plata last week across from Jose Luis Supermarket owned by a Chinese couple. The women wouldn't stop talking about how China is way more beautiful than DR and kept dissing DR so I asked her what she's doing living in the DR... She likes the weather and not as overcrowded.

Gotta love negative foreigners living in your country.

I think the Chinese can find the DR as an attractive destination if we market what we do have. Wide open gorgeous beaches, the first Spanish colony of the "new" world (zona colonial), the Bride of the Atlantic in Puerto Plata, MonteCristi from where the first Cuban revolutionaries departed from alongside Maximo Gomez, the Caribbean flavor, the amazing food, the exclusive Casa de Campo resort and golf courses as mentioned by Koreano, super friendly people and hopefully an unspoilt natural environment. These are things that with the right marketing mix and compelling narrative can make many hundreds of thousands of not only Chinese but world wide travelers and other type of tourists wish to visit. It's just that the lack of imagination and thinking within the box that I see from some detours this from occurring. If better care and more attention was displayed inactual care and conservation what a wondrous place this could truly be.

I dont think it will work. Why would they spend a total of 24 hours on a plane to get here? There are many countries that have similar quality that is much closer. Airplane ticket alone cost around 2,000 US. Chinese people loves to buy LV, Channel stuff when they travel. That supermarket chinese couple lives here because of the opportunity to have a business not only because of weather.

Lando calrisian said:

I think the Chinese can find the DR as an attractive destination if we market what we do have. Wide open gorgeous beaches, the first Spanish colony of the "new" world (zona colonial), the Bride of the Atlantic in Puerto Plata, MonteCristi from where the first Cuban revolutionaries departed from alongside Maximo Gomez, the Caribbean flavor, the amazing food, the exclusive Casa de Campo resort and golf courses as mentioned by Koreano, super friendly people and hopefully an unspoilt natural environment. These are things that with the right marketing mix and compelling narrative can make many hundreds of thousands of not only Chinese but world wide travelers and other type of tourists wish to visit. It's just that the lack of imagination and thinking within the box that I see from some detours this from occurring. If better care and more attention was displayed inactual care and conservation what a wondrous place this could truly be.

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You got to offer something they don't have. In my opinion only thing that they try to do right in this country is the golf courses. and ladies volumes in various places. I think chicas will stay that way (until they reach 30?) so they must invest some more money into golf course and reach that number one spot for once. In my opinion to call DR to have amazing food and few other is bit of stretch. They have other alternatives with better food and very comparable beach only few hour flights away.

Every likes number one. Having a number one golf course will go long way and feed the chicas for long time.

some of the golf courses here are well designed but what they lack is good top soil, and without good top soil you have hard fairways (no divits) lack of water to keep them irrigated compounds the problem. just my opinion.

its true the Chinese are coming to the DR, Ive noticed an influx of Sushi joints in Bavaro..

Me thinks Jose has the winning post.

Hmmmmm, cant see that happening... U think most chinese know where dr is? just a question not sarcasm.
But even so if we want them visiting here in the next decade we could start by cleaning up all the trash lying around....(not only for chinese, or tourists but for everyone.

Lando calrisian said:

I think the Chinese can find the DR as an attractive destination if we market what we do have. Wide open gorgeous beaches, the first Spanish colony of the "new" world (zona colonial), the Bride of the Atlantic in Puerto Plata, MonteCristi from where the first Cuban revolutionaries departed from alongside Maximo Gomez, the Caribbean flavor, the amazing food, the exclusive Casa de Campo resort and golf courses as mentioned by Koreano, super friendly people and hopefully an unspoilt natural environment. These are things that with the right marketing mix and compelling narrative can make many hundreds of thousands of not only Chinese but world wide travelers and other type of tourists wish to visit. It's just that the lack of imagination and thinking within the box that I see from some detours this from occurring. If better care and more attention was displayed inactual care and conservation what a wondrous place this could truly be.

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i am in full agreement with you regarding the wondrous things the DR has to offer the visitor, but we part company when you speak about amazing food. if it exists, then i am a slow discoverer, because i have not seen it in 25 years of searching. if food is to be the draw, all the other countries in the region are going to eat the DR's lunch.

JoseArzabalceta said:

I Visited China 2 & 4 years ago and english babbling Chinese people curiosly asked us about Paris, Italy (entire country), Disneyland and NY. Nobody had a wish or desiree to visit Portugal, Hungary or Argentina. Very much like middle class Dominicans who only think about Miami or NY when travelling to USA;Always missing Seattle, San Francisco, Saint Louis or other beautiful cities worth visiting. I guess it will take 10 to 15 years to SELL the idea about coming to DR and start receiving HORDES of Chinese tourist.
About selling the DR.. If it's a colonial zone they have the many cities at the Philipines..
beautiful beaches ? they have Thailand , Philipines and even India..
Smiling warm welcoming people ? you can find that at Afghanistan if you have money to spend.
Someone else said in another tourism thread " ..Only way we can bring more people to DR is to build some
piramids" That was laughable but not entirely true. In my personal and uninformed opinion selling points are
Dominican music, "dont worry" Jamaican attitude and , believe it or not, the BLACKNESS of DR but Chinese speaking guides are most needed,It's very hard to understand what they say when speaking english and you have to ask to repeat themselves over and over till they get offended.
So let's get ready and start financing a Dominican film festival in China or something else before Cuba gets that piece of cake and we get the spent candles only .

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what about Dominican music makes it a selling point? if orientals are going to come for caribbean music, it will be for reggae. the DR has a lot of attractions, but it is misguided to believe that food and music are among them.

the gorgon said:

what about Dominican music makes it a selling point? if orientals are going to come for caribbean music, it will be for reggae. the DR has a lot of attractions, but it is misguided to believe that food and music are among them.

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People must drop this we have best every thing in the world. Yes. DR has lot to offer and one of the best (golf course) but believing world also like rice&bean and sanconcho and can tell difference between Spanish musics. Some of you guys are in for a big shock.

Koreano said:

People must drop this we have best every thing in the world. Yes. DR has lot to offer and one of the best (golf course) but believing world also like rice&bean and sanconcho and can tell difference between Spanish musics. Some of you guys are in for a big shock.

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You are reading too much into it , both Koreano and the gorgon.
As i said before it was my personal and uninformed opinion but let me add this up :
We were by the hotel parking lot checking a cute small chinese sedan when the hotel doorman approached,
a tall and kind 20something chinese guy, he was the car owner and offered to show it. While going through it he said " is lie a for fiesta" (like a ford fiesta) I smiled on the word fiesta and he asked where i was from.Told him i was from *** (not Dominican)and he asked again "lie teregueton"(as in Do you like regueton) I said yes i do just because i didnt want to be rude but he presented an mp3 he was carrying in his car and first song was a Daddy yankee one (Gasolina).it was kind of shock since i hate regueton but smiled anyway.
Many chinese people said they liked SALSA (And they used the word salsa by all its letters)but gathered rumba, cumbia and cha cha cha into the term with no distinction.
So, im not Dominican and not confusing whats known locally as equally being known all over the world and as you both sugested about it i also think that even the most lumpen societies have wonderful stories about themselves which are preserved on round conversations but still stand by my point that Dominican (or any SALSA music) is a selling point to implant the idea to visit DR (or Cuba for that matters).

Contango said:

its true the Chinese are coming to the DR, Ive noticed an influx of Sushi joints in Bavaro..

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Those are Chinese immigrants and most of them are arriving due to the success stories many of their countrymen have been telling them and showing them pictures of the country. According to Rosa Ng, who is sort of the spoke person for the Dominican-Chinese community (she's a Dominican of Chinese descent from Santiago), most Chinese migrating to the country come from a handful of towns, I don't remember the exact name of the province, but I think its Guandong or something like that. The Chinese community is definitely growing nationwide, although this is more of a re-population, because there was a large and vibrant Chinese presence in the 1980s and before, with almost every province having its Chinese community and then that sort of disappeared, with the exception of the Santo Domingo and Santiago Chinese communities.

Also, a few years ago there was some political problems in Ecuador that was targeted to the Chinese community there and within a couple of years almost the entire Ecuadorian-Chinese community had emigrated mostly to two countries, Peru and the Dominican Republic. This could also explain the relatively swift increase of the Chinese presence in the country.

As for Chinese tourists, the government is working to increase their numbers. Rosa Ng herself has been sent to China to represent the interests of the Dominican Republic, including creating a demand for vacationing in Dominican tourist zones. I haven't seen anything on the market segment that will be targeted, but considering China is on the other end of the world, this tourism might be more exclusive than what is attracted from the USA, Canada, or Europe. Not that a luxury segment doesn't exist, the DR is already one of the largest luxury destinations in the Caribbean, but its mass market all inclusives sort of eclipses the large luxury tourism that exists.

In the last few years quite a few Dominican hotels have been ranked among the best in the world, including Casa Colonial in Puerto Plata, Tortuga Bay in Punta Cana, Casa de Campo in La Romana and about a handful of other places.