Article provided by Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- Contrary to what occurred in other countries which compete with Dominican Republic, investments in tourism real estate projects continue growing as the result of the strong position of local banks and lower interests in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Dominican Tourism Realtors Association (ADETI) president Juan Bancalari affirms the scenario has led to the creation of new residential facilities in the different tourism regions. “The financial sector played a preponderant role in the reactivation of the tourism real estate sector.”

Though the hotelier didn’t specify figures the Tourism Ministry had previously announced that to October 30 the Tourism Promotion Council approved and classified 44 projects of US$7.9 billion, to build 54,725 non-hotel rooms and complementary offers.

Bancalari affirms that the tourist who invests in luxury real estate projects and tourism residences become part of the country due to the society created, adding that they come to Dominican Republic more than twice a year and bring relatives and friends with them, which may produce a new investor.

This newly announced project means more good news for the Samana Peninsula.  Though the project won’t be completed for 20 years, the scope of this project indicates to me that  Samana has a very bright future.  The Samana Peninsula, where Las Terrenas, Samana and Las Galeras are located, has been getting attention from travelers, retirees and investors for many years.  Real Estate appreciation in the area has been as high as 35% per year, averaging about 20% over the last five or six years.  

Cisneros announces his Investments – article supplied by dr1.com

Venezuelan businessman Gustavo Cisneros has announced plans to build Tropicalia, a resort and residential project in the Samana Bay-Miches area in the east of the DR, with an estimated value of US$485 million. Construction is due to begin in March 2010 and will be completed by 2030, with a further US$1.5 billion investment over that period for a total investment approaching US$2 billion. 

Cisneros spoke of a vision for building a socially responsible tourism venture. He made his announcement during an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon, which was also attended by President Leonel Fernandez.

The new highway connecting the Dominican Republic’s capital city, Santo Domingo, to the popular tourist area of Samana has been open for use for over a year.  However, there are a few sections that have not yet been completed. Currently the drive is about two and a half hours from Santo Domingo to Las Terrenas.  With the new sections completed, it should take about two hours for the same trip.  Before the highway was opened in 2008, the drive was approximately five hours on a road in poor condition. 

According to the following article posted on September 8, 2009 on the Gov Monitor, the Inter-American Development Bank will lend up to $44.8 million to the highway project.  The 99 kilometers of existing highway that connects Nagua, Sanchez, Samana, El Limon, and Las Terrenas will be rehabilitated and there will be a new 24 kilometer route connecting Las Terrenas and Majagual.  

Last year when making the drive from Santo Domingo to Las Terrenas we took a few photos of the new highway.

Here’s the article that appeared in the Gov Monitor:

IDB Supports Toll Highway in Dominican Republic

Project will back development of road infrastructure to improve travel connections in areas with great tourist potential

The Inter-American Development Bank will support a toll highway project that will reduce the travel time between Santo Domingo and the Samaná peninsula, an area with great tourist potential, located in the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic.

Continue reading article: The Gov Monitor

This article, written by Joachim Bamrud, appeared in Latin Business Chronicle on August 11, 2009.  

The Dominican Republic is starting to see signs of recovery, leading to more optimism among local and foreign investors…

Osvaldo Oller, a director of the Oller Group, sees real estate in tourism areas like Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and Samana picking up after months of low or no demand. ”There’s a noticeable improvement,” he says. The Oller Group is involved in real estate, construction and tourism. 

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Another article, also featured on Latin Business Chronicle, states that the Dominican Republic has largely been spared by the international economic crisis, seeing only a slight decline in tourism for the first half of the year.  

The article points out “The Dominican Republic last year received a total of 3.8 million international visitors, which was virtually the same as in 2007.  However, tourism receipts grew by 2.8 percent to $4.2 billion, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO).

The Dominican Republic is also the largest tourism destination in the Caribbean and the fourth-largest in Latin America after giants like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. When measuring arrivals compared to total population, the Dominican Republic ranks third in Latin America.”

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