President Leonel Fernandez would support the construction of four ecology-friendly 70-room hotels by French investors in the Bahia de las Aguilas protected area in Pedernales, according to the Presidency web site. Fernandez made the announcement following listening to a presentation by French architect Francois Fontes during his visit to France, as part of his 11-day European tour. Also present was Jean Robert Resnick, a director at Accor hotel group, that has participated in the development of the master plan for the Bahia de las Aguilas area. The investors were invited to the Dominican Republic next month to discuss the matter more in depth with the government. Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez has favored and announced on several occasions the construction of 4,000-7,000 hotel rooms in the area.
Last week, Environment Minister Max Puig had alerted investors interested in the southwestern region that hotel installations need to be carried out outside of the protected area, and that the tourism development model could not be the same as in other regions of the country. Puig said that the country’s natural heritage could not be destroyed to only benefit “a few privileged groups of real estate speculators.” Puig highlights that if investments are made, UNESCO could remove the biosphere reserve category that covers the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo zone. In his opinion, the DR would be sending out the wrong signals to the entire world “if we are not capable of protecting this unique area as it is, and we ruin it.”
Puig said that tourism could be carried out conserving the habitat, and playing up cultural values. “The southwest can be competitive without having to copy the same models that have been applied in other regions. Tourism can happen successfully with less construction and more benefits for the people,” emphasized Puig. He made these comments when inaugurating a visitors’ center in Parque Jaragua, a project built with the sponsorship of the Spanish Cooperation Agency (OECI) at a cost of RD$10.5 million, as part of the Proyecto Araucaria that Spanish government aid is supporting in the southwest.