AI food usually sucks. Breakfast is the only good meal.
I think there is a bit of an identity crisis in terms of what type of tourist the north coast is going to attract. This is just my personal opinion, but the AI tourist shouldn't be the target group. Punta Cana has all that crowd, and it's doubtful that they're letting it go unless facilities aren't maintained over the years. Tour operators are going to go along with it. Newer infrastracture and cheaper flight prices help them maintain margin. The AI crowd is lost for the most part IMO, so I think you have to target the in between tourists. The tourist who want to experience more than an AI, but they will most likely speak very little spanish. They will need to feel secure because the language, culture, and environment is what they want, but you have to ease them into it otherwise it will overwhelm them. Here is a few groups that I can think may want to go to the north coast.
Eco-Tourist - Zip lines, ATV tours, waterfalls, hiking/scenic mountain tours, snorkeling, driving, surfing, sunset cruises
Party Tourist/Sex Tourist - You can't deny that they will come. I'll get to these guys.
Cultural Tourist - Menrengue classes. Spanish classes. Why don't get bars to sponsor weekly/monthly dance contests on PC with cash prizes? You could have winners grouped by best in age groups, best local couple, best local/tourist mixed couple, etc. From what I can tell, people there will dance at the drop of a hat. If you added even a 500 peso incentive, people might get into it.
Why not weekly/monthly best mamajuana contest on PC? I assume people have personal recipes. Have local politicans, business owners, etc as judges and let tourist who pay the fee to be a judge drink samples and cast votes like they do in BBQ contests. You could do other dominican food based events bake sales, dessert sales, etc.
Baseball tour/camp - Some kind of option to attend practices with a local team. Maybe if there are enough tourist players involved, you have a tourist vs locals game after a couple of days practice. If you're an american teenager/young adult that loves baseball, you might want to have the experience of having played ball there. They may think it gives them some credibility. If you're a local team, you may want to have the fun of beating a bunch of tourist ballplayers from the states.
Art shows on PC would be another idea. Organize it for artists to display works that are numbered. Set up a cental area to purchase what you want and keep the atrists from being in the exhibits to avoid the artists doing the "Hey! buy this one!".
What about shows from local dance troupes and stuff like that.
Obviously, I'm just spitballin ideas, and some would take government action. It may seem like corny stuff, but people who want to experience a little without being overwhelmed would go for that kind of stuff.
In order to make stuff work though, there has to be the right environment which makes me think of some other suggestions.
Tolerance zone - Build a 8 ft or 10 ft wall around a block. Let people build whatever bars, clubs, strip clubs, etc in there that they want. This is how Mexico used to do it. They put cops at the 1 or 2 entrances that check bags and wand for weapons. You could probably even charge a small fee to get in, but once you're in the zone, you're on your own unless cops see fighting, weapons, etc. It gets the negative activities out of sight. Everyone wants them out of sight. They want to be out of sight. It allows for rigid law enforcement everywhere else. Local girls or guys loitering in the tourist area alone. You've got three options, get moving, go to the tolerance zone, or go to jail. It's harsh but it's how other places keep the tourist zones free of that stuff.
Tourist information booths/Tourist Assistance - The government employs people to work in tourist information booths and to be available in the tourist zone. They would have to speak some english. Wear a uniform that identified them. Imagine if there were no guys at the steps down to Sosua beach with laminated sheets approaching you as you got close. Imagine if there was a booth that looked official that had a guy who spoke some english in it. Suddenly, as a tourist, i made choice to go find out about a tour or buy a map. I didn't just push right past those other guys because I felt under assault with offers. Same thing with the guys on the street. If I'm a tourist and see an event on the street, i can walk over the uniformed guy who I can ask what is going on. He can give me history. Recommend a restaurant. Translate for me. He doesn't have to be 100% on the up and up. As a tourist I feel better, he looks official, and yes, I'll tip with no problem if he wears a button that says we work for tips. He's bringing the gap for me.
Moto/Taxis - They need pull throughs. A tourist is not going to like having to say no to five moto drivers just to walk down the street. Build pull throughs. Big U shaped one way drives near the tourist zone. Moto drivers and taxis pull in one way, they get in line, a tourist cop works the front, a tourist approaches the cop, and says I want a moto or a taxi, then cop points to who's next. The key is that the tourist gets to approach things as they want. Any taxis or motos that are in the tourist zone that aren't in the pull through, they get fined, booted, tires flattened, or whatever.
Those are just some basic ideas besides like improve infrastructure, electricity, sidewalks, street lighting, etc. I think most people over estimate the effect of that stuff on tourism. I could care less about the highway. It's actually kinda cool to watch life go on without electricity without skipping a beat where as at home it just stops. I think a North Coast non-AI tourist wants to experience something different, but you've got to help them bring the gap a little. I don't think you can be successful saying "There is great stuff here to see. Go check it out". It will overwhelm them from a cultural and language standpoint.
I think there is a bit of an identity crisis in terms of what type of tourist the north coast is going to attract. This is just my personal opinion, but the AI tourist shouldn't be the target group. Punta Cana has all that crowd, and it's doubtful that they're letting it go unless facilities aren't maintained over the years. Tour operators are going to go along with it. Newer infrastracture and cheaper flight prices help them maintain margin. The AI crowd is lost for the most part IMO, so I think you have to target the in between tourists. The tourist who want to experience more than an AI, but they will most likely speak very little spanish. They will need to feel secure because the language, culture, and environment is what they want, but you have to ease them into it otherwise it will overwhelm them. Here is a few groups that I can think may want to go to the north coast.
Eco-Tourist - Zip lines, ATV tours, waterfalls, hiking/scenic mountain tours, snorkeling, driving, surfing, sunset cruises
Party Tourist/Sex Tourist - You can't deny that they will come. I'll get to these guys.
Cultural Tourist - Menrengue classes. Spanish classes. Why don't get bars to sponsor weekly/monthly dance contests on PC with cash prizes? You could have winners grouped by best in age groups, best local couple, best local/tourist mixed couple, etc. From what I can tell, people there will dance at the drop of a hat. If you added even a 500 peso incentive, people might get into it.
Why not weekly/monthly best mamajuana contest on PC? I assume people have personal recipes. Have local politicans, business owners, etc as judges and let tourist who pay the fee to be a judge drink samples and cast votes like they do in BBQ contests. You could do other dominican food based events bake sales, dessert sales, etc.
Baseball tour/camp - Some kind of option to attend practices with a local team. Maybe if there are enough tourist players involved, you have a tourist vs locals game after a couple of days practice. If you're an american teenager/young adult that loves baseball, you might want to have the experience of having played ball there. They may think it gives them some credibility. If you're a local team, you may want to have the fun of beating a bunch of tourist ballplayers from the states.
Art shows on PC would be another idea. Organize it for artists to display works that are numbered. Set up a cental area to purchase what you want and keep the atrists from being in the exhibits to avoid the artists doing the "Hey! buy this one!".
What about shows from local dance troupes and stuff like that.
Obviously, I'm just spitballin ideas, and some would take government action. It may seem like corny stuff, but people who want to experience a little without being overwhelmed would go for that kind of stuff.
In order to make stuff work though, there has to be the right environment which makes me think of some other suggestions.
Tolerance zone - Build a 8 ft or 10 ft wall around a block. Let people build whatever bars, clubs, strip clubs, etc in there that they want. This is how Mexico used to do it. They put cops at the 1 or 2 entrances that check bags and wand for weapons. You could probably even charge a small fee to get in, but once you're in the zone, you're on your own unless cops see fighting, weapons, etc. It gets the negative activities out of sight. Everyone wants them out of sight. They want to be out of sight. It allows for rigid law enforcement everywhere else. Local girls or guys loitering in the tourist area alone. You've got three options, get moving, go to the tolerance zone, or go to jail. It's harsh but it's how other places keep the tourist zones free of that stuff.
Tourist information booths/Tourist Assistance - The government employs people to work in tourist information booths and to be available in the tourist zone. They would have to speak some english. Wear a uniform that identified them. Imagine if there were no guys at the steps down to Sosua beach with laminated sheets approaching you as you got close. Imagine if there was a booth that looked official that had a guy who spoke some english in it. Suddenly, as a tourist, i made choice to go find out about a tour or buy a map. I didn't just push right past those other guys because I felt under assault with offers. Same thing with the guys on the street. If I'm a tourist and see an event on the street, i can walk over the uniformed guy who I can ask what is going on. He can give me history. Recommend a restaurant. Translate for me. He doesn't have to be 100% on the up and up. As a tourist I feel better, he looks official, and yes, I'll tip with no problem if he wears a button that says we work for tips. He's bringing the gap for me.
Moto/Taxis - They need pull throughs. A tourist is not going to like having to say no to five moto drivers just to walk down the street. Build pull throughs. Big U shaped one way drives near the tourist zone. Moto drivers and taxis pull in one way, they get in line, a tourist cop works the front, a tourist approaches the cop, and says I want a moto or a taxi, then cop points to who's next. The key is that the tourist gets to approach things as they want. Any taxis or motos that are in the tourist zone that aren't in the pull through, they get fined, booted, tires flattened, or whatever.
Those are just some basic ideas besides like improve infrastructure, electricity, sidewalks, street lighting, etc. I think most people over estimate the effect of that stuff on tourism. I could care less about the highway. It's actually kinda cool to watch life go on without electricity without skipping a beat where as at home it just stops. I think a North Coast non-AI tourist wants to experience something different, but you've got to help them bring the gap a little. I don't think you can be successful saying "There is great stuff here to see. Go check it out". It will overwhelm them from a cultural and language standpoint.
