Luis Abinader, president of the recently elected board of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Sosua and Cabarete (Ashoresoca) says the association will be taking a more active role in the promotion and marketing of the north coast hotels. He wants the association to be more proactive. He said one of their goals is to attract more sports, cultural and recreational events. He also said they want to host the 2006 Dominican Annual Travel Exchange (DATE), the leading locally-held hotel bookings event. DATE will take place in Santo Domingo in 2005. Abinader is the owner of the SuperClubs Breezes Puerto Plata Resort.
He said the new board hopes to work closely with the hotel associations of Puerto Plata, to the East and Rio San Juan, to the West to consolidate participation in international trade shows, fairs and tourism promotion events.
Abinader announced the association?s full support to the Counterpart International pilot project to build the country?s first coral gardens in the Bay of Sosua (see details at http://www.counterpart.org/programs/environment/coral.gardens.asp).
Other priorities for the Sosua and Cabarete association is to certify area hotels as Green Globe and Blue Flag hotels, maximize resources of the Caribbean Hotel Association for their members, and increase their presence on the Internet.
Other members of the board are Ian Schembri-Sant of Starz Resorts, Herman Strauss of Casa Marina Reef and Association Pro-Development of Sosua, Luis Lopez of Casa Marina Beach and Diego Garibaldi of Viva Wyndham Tangerine. Also Rafael Martinez of Association Pro-Development Cabarete; Lorenzo Bernardi, Hotel Garden Keti; Eddy Rodriguez, Caribe Campo; Guillermo Kirkman, Sea Horse Ranch; and Roberto Dono, Camino & Paraiso del Sol. Also Joseph Neurater, Hotel Sosua by the Sea; Rafael Diaz Fana, Morua Mai Restaurant; Quentin Liotard of Tropical Clubs; and Roch Labelle of Hotel Caracol.