that's a business plan?
If he is doing that, then it has to be.
that is subject to debate..
I disagree, this is one reason I live in Sosua. They raped Playa Granda. I use to go there about 5 times a year. Now I went there once and will never return. From what I heard the mayor is going to turn the beach into another Punta Cana. If I want Punta Cana that is where I would live. I like Sosua the way it is, there is no reason to change it. Closing in bars is not going to help with tourist. Bull dozing the beach will do nothing but make the people who live here leave. Tourist come here for a reason. Take that reason away they will go somewhere else. Sousa is different then any where else on this island. Turn it into everywhere else...Why come here?
I think a bit of perspective might be helpful here.
For many years, Sosua has existed (and largely subsisted) on the monger and discount tourist trade. I imagine the powers-that-be didn't think Playa Dorada would ever be revived as a result of the "Jet Blue from NYC" crowd.
A few years ago, it was decided to start berthing cruise ships (the ones with 3-5,000 tourists each) just outside of POP. Unlike the rap star wannabes, these folks are viewed as having real money, and the idea of several ships visiting every week was, I'm sure, quite tantalizing.
POP has no practical beach. Cabarete and beyond are very nice, but a bit far for a tourist who only has a few hours ashore. Which of course leaves Sosua.
Problem is, the tour operators had all heard of the sex industry thing, and were avoiding Sosua like the plague. Until the government decided to do something about it.
The arrests and crackdowns were not subtle or low-profile. And this plan of "cleaning up" Sosua in the hopes of attracting more traditional tourism isn't some sort of far-fetched notion, as the port in Maimon is scheduled to start receiving ships within a year.
Will mongering continue? Of course, it's everywhere in the country. Will there be much stricter controls in place? You bet.
It's highly doubtful the atmosphere of years past will be tolerated once the ships arrive. And frankly, I don't think that's a bad thing. Watching a bunch of adolescent-minded NYC homies quite literally tear up the town, while creepy looking Europeans manhandle the women is not one of my favorite memories.
Who ever said Sosua was going to be saved by Cruise Ship passengers? There may be a bus excursion to Sosua Beach for cruisers, but I doubt anyone thinks it's going to "save the town financially".
With that being said though, the cruise ship port and it's passengers will bring attention to the North Coast. How many thousand blue haired ladies will get off the ship yearly, buy a few trinkets and go home proclaiming to their sons and daughters "The Dominican is a lovely place!" That's advertising you can't buy.
Take Alicia Park and Beach for example. I'm sure nobody thought that little project would help pack the restaurants and hotels. But it's an improvement for the town, every little bit helps.
Who ever said Sosua was going to be saved by Cruise Ship passengers? There may be a bus excursion to Sosua Beach for cruisers, but I doubt anyone thinks it's going to "save the town financially".
With that being said though, the cruise ship port and it's passengers will bring attention to the North Coast. How many thousand blue haired ladies will get off the ship yearly, buy a few trinkets and go home proclaiming to their sons and daughters "The Dominican is a lovely place!" That's advertising you can't buy.
Take Alicia Park and Beach for example. I'm sure nobody thought that little project would help pack the restaurants and hotels. But it's an improvement for the town, every little bit helps.
there is no literature which establishes that cruise tourism is advantageous to land based tourism. as a matter of fact, it is detrimental to land based tourism, for many reasons.
there is no literature which establishes that cruise tourism is advantageous to land based tourism. as a matter of fact, it is detrimental to land based tourism, for many reasons.
Please share the reasons why cruise ships are bad for land based tourism. I am not asking to be challenging.
I agree that all of this should be worked on in conjunction with improving the overall all image of Sosua. With an island full of beautiful women, the issues you listed seem more important than the fixation with supporting the network that facilitates the monetization of sexual relationships with the locals.I am all for improvements but I wish they would start tackling the main reasons that are holding the little town of Sosua back. Things like the water, electricity, police, motoconchos, crime, parking, dirt on the streets, the flooding....to name a few. I think that making some of these things marginally better would go a long way towards improving the situation the "good" tourists?![]()
\A cruise ship is going to lead their passengers around by the nose to shops and day tours that give kickbacks to the cruise company or are company owned. You see the same thing with the AIs who make the day tour companies charge less per person and then the AI charges a HUGE mark-up for arranging the booking. The tour company makes less and the tourists pay more.