"occupancy rate dropping"
uhm, guys(and gurls)... anybody read the article?
it says non-dominican visitors are up 2.2% this year.
so, no good to look at why fewer tourists are coming.
any chance one or a combination of the following led to reduced occupany rates?
- the building of new hotel rooms has simply outpaced the growth rate of tourism .
- the 102.2% of visitors vs last year aren't staying as long
- dominicans aren't going to resorts at the same rate that they were last year
- poor record keeping & gathering/calculating of statistics? (nah, not in DR!)
I made my first visit to DR in April. I was there for 3 nights. Flew from JFK. The price of the weekend was well over $1000.
I was in SD and I have to admit I was a bit bored. I felt trapped in the hotel at night because it was not safe to walk outside the small zona colonial area. And, there was not much going on in the zona colonial unless you wanted to drink or eat ice cream. Plus, every local I met had a price tag attached to themselves.
My point is DR is an acquired taste. But, it costs a lot of money to acquire that taste. Until you become hooked or get that acquired taste, you are reluctant to go back. After my first visit, I am not sure that DR is my cup of tea. If the flights were cheaper, I might give it a second chance.
... 3 days in the Capitol could be a wonderful educational and cultural experience, but it would require some preperation and planning....
Credit for the firs pics goes to CG-LT
http://www.dr1.com/forums/north-east-coast/62278-sdq-samana-highway.html