I think the main reason is that it's not really a "resort" destination for Dominicans, or anyone for that matter. When people think of a Caribbean Beach Resort vacationin the DR, even the locals, they think of Punta Cana, Playa Dorada, Bayahibe, even Samana or the South West area...they don't think of a small town without one really nice hotel/resort, and a small crowded beach.
I'm not bashing or defending Sosua, just stating my opinion of what Sosua is...a multi-National small town with a small but decent beach, cheap hotels, pretty good selection of restaurants, and a lot of bars on a dark, busy main street. With or without prostitutes and shoe shine boys, this will never compete with the places above, let alone, Jamaica, The Bahamas, The Virgin Islands, etc.
All that said, Sosua as it is has a certain charm that obviously attracts some people, tourists and ex-pats alike. Maybe all this hoopla over cleaning up Sosua will seem silly a few months or a few years down the road, but whomever, or whatever, is behind these fairly major changes, are travelling up a slippery slope that could ruin Sosua for a very long time, possibly permanently.
Excellent point. I agree 100% with your opinion about "what Sosus is". I don't think anyone, whether Dominican or not would consider Sosua a "resort"destination. It is just as you describe it
"a multi-National small town with a small but decent beach, cheap hotels, pretty good selection of restaurants, and a lot of bars on a dark, busy main street. And although it is not a "resort destination", every Sunday that small beach has quite a few Dominican visitors from Santiago, La Vega, Moca, etc. enjoying themselves with their families. Whether they come in the many SUV's that park along the streets of Charamicos or the tiny beach parking lot. Also, the ones who bring their small boats to launch on the ramp at the beach entrance and the many that arrive in the large buses parked along the main road.. I think for them it can be descirbed as a "weekend destination". When Sosua Bay Hotel does their promotions in Santiago for the weekends it is filled. And Semana Santa, well actually during Semana Santa it is just too crowded.
Apart from these weekend Dominican visitors there are several wealthy Dominican families who own houses here, and spend a lot of time here. I just saw another thread listing the wealthiest people in the Dominican Republic and four of these people or their families have houses here. Actually about a year and a half ago I attended a wedding reception given by one of those families. It was held right on the "new" beach at the end of calle Dr. Rosen, right in front of their house. They actually set up a complete platform, dance floor and stage with full theatrical lighting, right there on the beach. It was fabulous.
This also makes me wonder about post #303 by arseniog, on this thread, he states how 95% of Dominicans have such a low opinion of Sosua. There seem to be quite a few Dominican visitors still coming here from other parts of the country.
With all this talk about Pedro Clisante being a police state, Sosua dying, Sosua is finished, I don't bother with Sosua, I won't go back to Sosua, etc., etc. there is a side to Sosua that most people haven't mentioned too often in this thread. Aside from Sosua's ex-pat population, there are approximately 25,000 Dominicans (and the current census will give us a more accurate count) that still call Sosua home despite the obvious deterioration that has taken place lately. These are the families whose children attend all the schools in Sosua, whether public or private, and the teachers who teach in those schools. The doctors , dentists, pharmacists, lawyers, architects, etc. who work and live in Sosua, the people who work for edenorte, codetel, orange, viva, claro, cooraplata and so-on. There are also several high ranking military & government officials living in Sosua. These are 25,000 people that have been the backbone of Sosua throughout it's interesting history and many changes. These people are acutely aware of what Sosua
was and
is. Hopefully, whoever is behind these changes are genuinely considering these people's future. Ultimately they are the ones who will directly benefit or suffer depending on the final results of whatever changes do take place over the long term.
aranoid: