The La Romana & Bayahibe Hotel Association and the Ministry of Environment will be working together this year to build the Ecotourism Center of Padre Nuestro, in the National Park of the East. The center promises to become one of the better ecotourism attractions of the country. A visitor center will be created, as well as ecological trails to the springs. Visitors will then have access to view endemic species, observe birds, butterflies and animals that live in the wild. Samples of pre Hispanic cave art will also be on display in the many caves around the springs. Tourists will be able to snorkel in a selection of springs located in caves, and one of the highlights of the center will be a swim in an underwater archaeological museum that will be recreated on the bottom of a subterranean lake.
Simon Suarez, president of the Association of Hotels of La Romana and Bayahibe signed for the private sector and Environment Minister Max Puig signed for the government during a ceremony held at the Viva Dominicus Palace Hotel. The facility will be open to the public next year.
The Padre Nuestro ecotourism center will be built in the midst of the Valley of La Sabila, an outstanding natural formation across the Bayahibe geological fault. Crystal clear water springs that supply water to the Bayahibe area originate at this site. The La Romana & Bayahibe Hotel Association had the vision to relocate the community that lived in the area of the springs to a new town built in the nearby area of Benedicto. Many who lived in shacks, now have their property titles to their own cement houses with running water, electricity, sewage installations in an area that has its own school, community center, paved streets with sidewalks. The association had the vision, and was supported by funding from the US Agency for International Development, contributions from the Dominican government, and Codespa, a Spanish non-governmental organization.
The agreement for the park is expected to serve as a model for collaboration between the private tourism sector and the Ministry of Environment. The Dominican Institute for Integral Development (IDDI) will be implementing the project that will be funded by the Association of Hotels of Bayahibe and FIPA/USAID.