Funny....I have been thinking they have done a great job at killing tourism in Sosua....they made downtown ugly, empty crap everywhere, no good nightlife. Don't get me wrong...I love Sosua, that is because I know Sosua and where I like to go. Just look around....if you don't love the place...it is a $hithole. It was Sosewer more than 20 years ago. I kind of have the feeling that this has become a problem because of the fact that there is more of one nationality than another…..that has changed.
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prostitution affects tourism in sosua
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I agree that the social media craze is part of the issue but I think the sense of entitlement is the larger culprit. For us that live here there are plenty of "regular" females to peruse. Plenty of them have their own issues,,,,,,but then again so do I.
Same experience. In early 2002, there was a bit of a collapse in the tourist market and a sense that tourist real estate prices were collapsing. It was only about 4 months since 9-11 and nobody was flying that didn’t have to.
The Peso was about 16 to the dollar. Sosua had recently undergone a big crackdown on prostitution (a year or two before) and supposedly had much more prostitution in the 90’s. Details and particular bars/discos might have been different but everything was about the same.
When the JetBlue boys will pay 4000 pesos for "ladies of cheerful life" that are 50 pounds overweight, and more stretch marks than there are painted lines on the carretera, no wonder they think they are "something".
But that was their plan. Chase off owners of puta hang outs, and of course those buildings become empty.
That new restaurant on Clisante, that used to be a disco, it's attractive and seems to be doing well. Time will tell if it makes it. The chinese place, expanding. The new cigar shop plaza next to the chinese restaurant, always seem to be people in there. EPS on Clisante, expanding. So the empty buildings you see today might not be what you see tomorrow.
Americans? Not sure I understand your comment.
I know the owner of the Cigar bar thats tucked back from the street, in the mall where the Chinese food place is, he told me that the owners plan to put in a bunch of "chain/franchise" places, whether it be both in the plaza, or facing Pedro Clisante
So, things are picking up? There have been so many great restaurants that have come and gone in my 18 years of visiting and living in Sosua...a restaurant does not have great shelf like in the little town.
I was speculating on their perception of the girls...it certainly is not mine.
Of course it is, already forgot what the gov said in the original post? It's all those "families" they are building restaurants for... (100% tongue in cheek)
Things are definitely changing. A very slow process. That hooker disco is no longer a hooker disco.
It's now a restaurant.
And I doubt it will ever revert back to a hooker disco. That's one in a row - right?
I was there a couple of months ago. I remember a day when it was difficult to walk downtown because there were so many people....was hoping that things had picked up since my last visit....it was a ghost town....in high season.
You might have coincidentally strolled by when the Jolly Roger has their Thieves market, which various people come set up tables and do like an open air Garage sale of sorts. But yes, a lot of times, you can walk around especially through the day during "high season", and not see a lot of folks there.
I meant 15 years ago it was bustling at night...I can see what it looked like I wrote...I am a poor writer.
That's what happens during change. What you saw doesn't mean anything. I saw it too.
I don't know if they'll be successful in what their doing. But it doesn't happen overnight.
A ton of infrastructure needs to be added or improved if they want to do what they plan. The track record has not been good. How are the palms on PC?
Last time I was there I cut my leg on a piece of wire sticking out of one of the support wires holding up the poles....it's the little things. The place needs so much work...they like to put the cart before the horse.
I invented a phrase for that type of project. I call it the Rubik's Cube Project. You can't make a move without making 10 other changes first. And those 10 moves require other changes to happen first before you can go forward. You can drive yourself nuts trying to figure out what to do first. Sometimes you just gotta dive in. I think they're doing ok under the circumstances.
I said many times a couple Years ago, on another forum that there will be a Mc Donalds and or Dunkin Donuts ON Pedro Clisante ONE day in the future... and EVERYONE called me INSANE.. "yeagh, go ahead , try that stupid isht" they said ... lmao...
This was the Problem facing the Communist Countries back in the Day.
Veggies used to ROT in the field
try to think about the similarities , like a metaphor
The Veggies are Ripe in the field .. (think vacation travelers, people with $$)
The Truck needs to be started to get them to Market
the truck has a flat tire
the guy checks the air compressor, but its not running, it needs a Part
the store with the part says it will take a week or 2 to get it, cuz the deliveries are slow
You can do the math from there ..
Sosua and the North Coast , if they LOSE Tourism to other destinations, may NEVER get them back.
and there are a LOT of other Choices .
I used to tell people how NICE the DR is , places like Samana, off the beaten path, and the AI resorts , other places than Punta Cana.
but not any more .. Why should I ?
Point is once you lose that "word of mouth" once the TASTE is gone... the Amount of $$ it will take for AD campaigns to bring BACK tourists , will be Astronomical..
And where are all the Bobby and Suzies from the Cruise ships , strolling around town ? did that EVER even materialize ?
The Hookers were never the problem, they could have easily been MOVED out of sight, its the incompetence of the people running the whole store , and they love to point the finger .
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