President Leonel Fernández was present at the formal inauguration of the Casa del Mar resort, the first major hotel to open in the Bayahibe beach area. The 600 room hotel was built by the Bayahibe Beach Resort at a cost of RD$500 million. The Central Romana, which also owns Casa de Campo, the Hotel Santo Domingo and operates the Hotel Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic, announced that the company has plans to build a new international airport, and a golf course in the area, bringing the investment to RD$1,600 million. Minister of Tourism Felix Jiménez was present at the event, as was Marino Ginebra, president of the Bayahibe Beach Resort, who is also president of the Association of Hotels & Restaurants (Asonahores). The hotel will be operated by Amhsa, a local hotel operator, presided by Marino Ginebra. The Casa del Mar was built on an area of 232,000 square meters, northeast of the town of Bayahibe. Alberto Daly is the general manager.
