Tony, I agree with you about not supporting an opressive government, but what I think what we are talking about in this thread is what will happen AFTER Castro goes and Cuba changes. As long as there is an oppressive, communist government the American people will not be disposed toward vacationing there. Those Americans that are going there now are not representative of the general US travel market.
MommC has a good point when she cites the well-known drawbacks of a vacation in the DR: dirty, no sanitation, very little potable water, FILTHY beaches, and overpriced; not to mention open prostitution, constant attempts by locals to scam the tourists, and corrupt Politur police and tourism officials. She should have also mentioned the conditions those of us in the tourist industry have to contend with daily: ignorant and surly employees that constantly lie and steal, corrupt government officials, local merchants constantly trying to overcharge us, lack of a continuing, coherent government plan to draw tourists to the DR (and subsequently having to promote it ourselves-my main reason for creating Samana.Net, it certainly isn't profit), unequal application of rules and regulations; the list goes on and on.
Tourists can put up with some deprivations, but too many negatives such as these that affect the quality of a vacation surely portend serious problems, if not the demise of an important part of this country's economy. Without tourism, this place will roll over and play dead. We have enough problems now without having to deal with Cuba further competing with the DR for tourist dollars.
