The Dominican Republic has all necessary conditions to promote and develop ecotourism, said the director of the Peace Corps of the United States, Michael Hirsch. He was speaking during a workshop on ecotourism held last week in the central mountain resort area of Jarabacoa. He pointed out that ecotourism is only successful in those countries where the people are trained to take care of, and manage, the protected area and provide the proper services to the visiting tourists. The workshop was co-sponsored by the National Department of Parks. Mr Hirsch favors promoting ecotourism among new generations of Dominicans as a way of creating a greater awareness of the importance of the country’s natural attributes and thus ensuring their preservation for posterity.