developments that correspond with the growth of the city. The avenue would flow from pre-existing avenues of Colon, Pedro Clisante, Isabel de Torres and Hermanas Mirabal.

Other priorities for highway constructions are the Puerto Plata-Navarrette Highway that would be expanded from the present two-lane highway to a four-lane highway. Likewise, improvements of the North Coast highway that links Puerto Plata with Playa Dorada and on to Cabarete are a priority.

Cultural Capital of the North
The medium-term strategy for Puerto Plata outlines the vision to regenerate downtown Puerto Plata and its Victorian Houses, to create an attractive and vibrant town center for the benefit of everyone, whether they live, work or are visiting in the area. Already in place are the cultural heritage programs to preserve the colonial and Victorian architectural masterpieces in the central area of the city. The Monumental Cultural Heritage Office has been successful in obliging that at least the facades of the treasures be maintained.

The restoration of Victorian houses, sponsoring of plazas and pedestrian walkways, reconstruction of facades of homes and businesses that were irregularly torn down, and implementation of rules for signage are on the drawing board - and some are already taking shape as investors see the opportunities.

Among the works in progress is the installation of the Brugal Rum museum near the port area.

The pace of the restoration of downtown Puerto Plata is gradually picking up; as the demand for new establishments grows, a need is emerging to cater to the elite and upscale visitors who will park on the Marina when it becomes operational in 2005, and to the thousands of tourists who are already pouring into the city seek a complete cultural vacation experience.

Luring convention tourism
Aware that business tourism is growing, Playa Dorada's hotel association has identified a specific site for the construction of a state-of-the-art convention center and community leaders are in discussion with the Central Bank the owner of the property, regarding the value of the land with an eye on the center's launch in early 2006. The hosting of the Dominican Annual Travel Exchange in April 2004 is a clear indication of the seriousness of Puerto Plata hoteliers in attracting a greater share of convention travel to the area.

With Puerto Plata being just over a one-hour flight from Florida and two hours from New York, the area is lucrative for those seeking to hold their meetings abroad. Furthermore, travelers to Puerto Plata can write off much of their vacation time here given the preferential tax status of the Dominican Republic

Citizen campaign awareness
Key campaigns have been identified to raise the awareness of the population, starting with education programs in primary grades and continuing on with adults.

According to the Puerto Plata Province Development Plan, there is a misconception that Dominicans are eminently laid back and disorganized. Nevertheless, the strategists point out that there have been numerous demonstrations that Dominican citizens rapidly take to order when there is leadership in this direction.

The citizen awareness campaign seeks to build on another inherent strength of Puerto Plata, the fact that most of the residents actually live in the vicinity and thousands are Puerto Plata-bom with strong roots to their hometown.