JULY 2009
Amistad Dominico-Americana IV Contest
On Playa Cayena, Nagua
BREAKING NEWS: The city of Nagua is ready to receive from July 17 to July 19 the annual event so much awaited by the surfers and the public in general at the national and international level, which is the AMISTAD DOMINICO-AMERICANA 2009 CONTEST
which celebrates its 4th year of consecutive successes.
This event will propose Prize Money for the winners as well as accessories of surfing.
Concerts of rock’n’roll will also take place during this weekend.
It is the fourth consecutive year that the Dominican Federation of Surf (FEDOSURF) and the International Youth Initiative (IYI) organize this type of event with sporting exchange and meeting between Dominican surfers and young American surfers.
In 2006, the competition took place in Playa Bomba, in Cabarete, in 2007 in Playa Güibia in Santo Domingo and this year, just like the previous one, (2008) it will be in the beautiful province of Nagua but this time on Playa Cayena of this locality.
This exchange will offer to the infantile and youthful public a large variety of entertaining activities.
The realization of this event will be possible thanks to the sponsorship of the International Youth Initiative (IYI), of the Secretariat of Sports, Physical Education and Leisures (SEDEFIR), the Dominican Olympic Committee (COD) and thanks to the support of the municipal authorities of the town of Nagua, various secretariats of state, of Dr. Francis Vargas and the Government as well as of a ONGs group.
Las Terrenas Live/FEDOSURF, 01.07.09
Viva Residence celebrates its affiliation with a prestigious international company
The Registry Collection
BREAKING NEWS: Viva Residence subscribed a strategic alliance with the The Registry Collection Company, recognized international industry, the unique company devoted to exchange luxury properties.
This agreement will allow the owners of the Viva Residence Las Terrenas project to exchange stays with the owners of residences of holidays of the same category located in tourist destinations of great international reputation.
The agreement was signed by Rafael Blanco Canto, Vice-president of Viva Resorts, and Eugenio Macouzet, Senior Vice-president and Managing director of The Registry Collection for the Caribbean.
Blanco says being fully trustful in the success of this alliance, after having indicated that Samaná was a new great destination of the country.
The properties associated with The Registry Collection offers to Viva Residence Las Terrenas a vast range of options for the holidays of its customers, in the great tourist destinations of the country and the world.
The Registry Collection counts 35.000 members on a world level and 130 properties affiliated in 25 countries, including some located in destinations like the USA, Mexico, South Africa and Europe.
With this alliance, The Registry Collection will work with a team of professionals of Viva Resorts which has 20 years of experience in the development and the operation of hotel and tourist establishments.
Viva Residence Las Terrenas has 76 apartments and villas, conceived by the famous architect Antonio Segundo Imbert.
This project offers services of caretaker, swimming pool, house club, restaurants, spa, gymnasium and other facilities, with an impressive view on the sea.
Without any doubt, Viva Residence offers a guarantee of success and quality, based on the operational experience, administrative capacity and knowledge of the market, accumulated by Viva Resorts.
Viva Residence has a portfolio of development which includes two projects in Las Terrenas and in Playa Dorada in Dominican Republic , and also projects to develop in Bayahibe.
Las Terrenas Live, 03.07.09
Tourist estate agencies strongly represented to the Caribbean Tourist Fair 2009
The participants showed interest to invest in Las Terrenas
BREAKING NEWS: The XIII edition of the Caribbean Tourist Fair which took place in the Dominican Fiesta hotel of the capital, counted this year with a total deployment of 100 national and foreign companies.
The majority of the companies which took part are real companies of tourist development, companies of titles and services, cabinets of lawyers as well as financial institutions and of telecommunications. In the same register, airline companies and tour operators, companies of hardware, craft industry and of other products and services having a relation with the sector were present.
The tourist fair had the participation of 50 international delegates, the majority coming from the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
For Lucía Anreus, responsible of the event, in spite of the crisis, the participating companies expressed their optimism and many companies were interested to reinforce commercial relations with the country.
Everyone which came showed a lot of interest because the international professionals wished to know the possibilities of investment in Dominican Republic
.
According to Anreus, one of the reasons why as many companies were interested in the country is that in Dominican Republic, there was no banking crisis as in the United States.
The people have more confidence to invest here because the banking system is surer
.
She explained that the companies of real development taking part this year expressed a great interest for zones like Samaná , Las Terrenas and Juan Dolio.
The BTC is an event which has been carried out in the country for more than thirteen years, and the fair gathers each year the majority of the companies and the businesses which produce services in relation to the tourist sector.
During this activity, the national companies but also the foreign ones, managed to support their services and products and to concretize investments in the country.
Dominican Republic Live, sponsor of the Caribbean Tourist Fair, was present during the three days of the event.
On this occasion the team of the Live Websites could create solids contacts with representatives of Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cuba and Miami.
These enriching meetings concretize the goal of extension of our communication network to all the Latin America, by developing the marketing of the Dominican Republic in a continental scale.
We also had the opportunity to present with much pride the Peninsula of Samaná , one of the zones which presents the greatest development in Dominican Republic .
Dominican Republic/Las Terrenas Live, 06.07.09
Italy seeks to increase the tourist investment in Dominican Republic
Development of the accesses and the facilities
BREAKING NEWS: The ambassador of Italy in Dominican Republic, Enrico Guicciardi, underlined the interest of the secretary of Tourism, Francisco Javier García, to promote investment of company managers of the European country and to make viable the facilities so that new investors bet on the development of the tourism in this destination of the Caribbean.
Guicciardi expressed that the Dominican Republic had the characteristics and the attractions which motivate Italian company managers to carry out investments in the country, especially in the sector of tourism.
In this way, he explained that García shown the best tendencies to support than these investors to materialize their projects, by indicating that in the country there exist legal standards and, especially, the support of the government to promote these projects.
During his first official visit to the secretary of Tourism, Guicciardi expressed his satisfaction as for the Italo-Dominican commercial relations, after having indicated that these are two nations which are characterized by the fact of having always had excellent relations of friendship and of co-operation.
During the visit of the Italian ambassador to the secretary of Tourism, Luis Simó, sub-secretary of Tourism for the International Businesses was present.
Las Terrenas Live, 07.07.09
Public works accelerate the tourist roadwork
To boost the economy
BREAKING NEWS: The Public Work Ministry informed that the projects that this portfolio started to carry out to boost the economy and to face the crisis which has an negative impact on Dominican Republic, exceeded 1 billion 200 million dollars.
Víctor Díaz Rua expressed that, in addition to the work of the Corredor Duarte
, Public works is going to launch the National Asphalting Plan with an investment higher than 300 million dollars and than in September, one would attend the final takeoff of work of the Corredor Turístico
of the Coral road in the East zone.
He explained that one also accelerated the steps to begin as soon as possible the Atlantic Tourist Boulevard, while in the Hacienda Ministry, one made everything in order that the Viadom project can start, after having received the approval of the legislative chambers.
In the same way, he added that the Government had already identified all the resources for the financing of the totality of these infrastructures which will be built in all the country.
Las Terrenas Live, 08.07.09
Eco tourist diversity linked to hotel zones
Sustainable development
BREAKING NEWS: The eco tourism in all its demonstrations is currently the sub-sector of tourism with the greatest growth at a global scale.
The attraction par excellence of this type of tourism consisted in the resources of the flora and fauna, potholing, waterfalls and cascades, alpinism or excursions in mountain, the local cultures etc…, its philosophy being the sustainable development through the integration of the local communities and the safeguarding of the natural resources.
The Dominican Republic has excellent eco tourist attractions visited by million tourists coming from the whole world.
Among all the visitors interested by these activities and who every year travel to the country, they are the European and Canadian tourists who are the most representative.
This nation of the Caribbean has a lot of protected sectors which include fourteen scientific national parks and nine reserves, which occupy around 12 percent of the national territory.
The eco tourist offer near to the hotel zones is the ideal model of sustainable tourist development, contributing to the safeguarding of the natural resources, underlining the evaluation of the natural and cultural heritage and producing employment and benefit for the local populations by improving their quality of life.
The Province of Samaná , in the North-East, is the principal destination of the Caribbean for the Humpback whales watching from January to March, which boost the local economy with more than forty thousand visits per year.
One can also visit the National Park of Los Haitises and make an excursion to the Limon Waterfall, the latter being under the management of some fifteen communitarian micro eco tourist companies. Another offer of the zone is the Cayo Levantado, a famous destination for eco tourist visits.
All these attractions generate that more than 70 thousand tourists visit Samaná every year, and in their majority, these destinations are managed by small and private companies.
Las Terrenas Live, 10.07.09
Bahía Príncipe receives a double reward in Spain
A chain of very good reputation
BREAKING NEWS: The President of Bahía Príncipe, Pablo Piñero, will receive a double decoration in Spain this summer in recognition of his long trajectory in the world of tourism.
Next Monday, the Town hall of Puerto de la Cruz, commune of the Canary islands, will deliver a gold medal to him; however, while on September 24, it will be the Chamber of Commerce of the island of Majorque which will reward him with another medal.
The founder of Soltour and the Piñero Hotels, which gather a chain having one of the best reputations in the hotel panorama, Bahía Príncipe, is a self-made man company manager and an untiring fighter.
The financial results of the Piñero Group of 2008 were higher than those of the previous year and those of this quarter exceeded those of the same period in 2008.
Las Terrenas Live, 13.07.09
More than 300 athletes take part to the sporting games of Las Terrenas
Sporting league Los Terreneros
BREAKING NEWS: LAS TERRENAS. - Approximately 300 athletes of the disciplines of baseball, basketball, volley ball and softball took part in the Municipal Games Las Terrenas 2009, thanks to the support of various public and private institutions of this tourist community of the province of Samaná.
The sports event, organized by the Sporting League Los Terreneros
was inaugurated with an enthusiastic procession which crossed the main street of Las Terrenas.
The activity has the support of the Alliance of the Tourist Service Companies of Samaná, which financed the clothes, the utility and the work of improvement of the « multiuso » of Las Terrenas, where the principal competitions of the games will take place.
The organizing committee of the games, chaired by the Colonel of the National Police, Carlos Fernández Valerio and engineer Jose Oscar Orsini Bosch, dedicated the event to the Minister of Tourism, Francisco Javier García, in recognition for having improved the conditions of the principal tourist pole of the North-eastern Coast.
Engineer Orsini Bosch, who is president of the Alliance of the Tourist Companies of Samaná and of the Luz y Fuerza company, underlined the remarkable integration of the civil society, of the National Police and of Politur to support the development of the sports activity.
The director of the Águilas Cibaeñas
, Luichi Sánchez and the baseball player Jose Rijo were present for the inauguration as well as other personalities.
Las Terrenas Live, 15.07.09
Tourism was not very affected by the world economic crisis
The dialogue as policy to solve the conflicts
BREAKING NEWS: The secretary of Tourism, Francisco Javier García, ensured that the world economic recession did not cause the great effects expected in the tourism sector.
He supported that some sectors had forecast the collapse of the tourism by 15 percent for the year 2009, however, for the time being the results are by 4 percent above the projections which had been made.
In another order, he said that since his arrival in the institution, one had proposed the dialogue as policy to solve the conflicts between the private sector and the government institution, since according to him, in the background of tourism, the public sector must go hand in hand with the private sector.
He explained that a harmony between the parts was created and that they do not meet any different or problems.
Javier García informed that between the months of October 2008 and May 2009, the Council of the Tourist Projects approved 81 new tourist projects, of which 60% belong to the zone of Bávaro and 14% to the province of Samaná.
He affirmed that all these projects add up an investment of 15 billion 300 million dollars.
Las Terrenas Live, 16.07.09
The meetings of residents’ associations start to be efficient
Results
BREAKING NEWS: The infrastructures claimed by the communities through the Popular Dialogs and the Democratic Meetings
directed by president Leonel Fernández, in four provinces of the country, started to be carried out by the responsible institutions to fill the engagements assumed by the chief of the State.
The Secretariat of Public Works and Communications already materialized the beginning of construction and rebuilding of streets, roads, bridges and other infrastructures promised by Fernández during these meetings carried out in the provinces of San Cristóbal, San Pedro de Macorís, El Seibo and Samaná.
To date, INAPA, Public Works and the Coordinator and Supervisor Office of State Works have the responsibility to carried out the execution of the greatest number of the infrastructures promised at the time of these popular meetings.
The holder of Public Works, Víctor Díaz Rúa, explained that the majority of work which corresponds to his Secretariat had been started and that the others were in process of execution.
In a written summary detailed by provinces, Díaz Rúa explains that in Samaná, they are building the walls of the gabions on the road Sánchez-Las Terrenas, they are rebuilding and asphalting the streets in Las Terrenas and Sánchez and that they are working on the hospital of Samaná, as well as on the local road Algarrobo Arriba-Algarrobo Abajo-Samaná.
Repairs and cleaning of the walls of gavion on the Río Pueblo Viejo sides are also completed and the problems of land slides at the entry of the commune of Sánchez are being repaired.
On last March 29, president Fernández began in San Pedro de Macorís the Popular Dialogs and Democratic Meetings
, in order to know in a direct way the requests and the problems which affect the various communities, and at the same time to bring solutions to them.
Since then, the agent carried out similar meetings in San Cristóbal, Samaná and El Seibo, places where he promised the solution to the problems and the construction of tens of infrastructures whose executions correspond to the Secretariat of Public Works, to the National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewers and to the Coordinator and Supervisor Office of State Works, among others.
SAMANÁ
In this tourist province, the first agent asked that the Administrator of National Goods, Elías Wessin Chávez, identifies the lands for the transfer of the local garbage dump.
He announced the creation of a commission to solve the difficulties which affect the breeding sector of this locality, and another composed by members of the National Police and the National Office of Drug’s Control to prepare together a fight plan against the drug traffic and the narcotics’ sales.
He also ordered the reorganization of the entry of the commune of Samaná, the rebuilding of the Catholic Church Santa Bárbara as well as of the historical temple The Church
and of the local aqueduct.
The secretary of Public Works promised to asphalt the streets of Samaná when the setting up of the pipes for the aqueduct will be terminated.
PROCEDURE
At the time of each dialog, President Leonel Fernández asks the civil servants responsible for the construction of the infrastructures to explain to the representatives of the community organizations when they will complete the work and at what stage they are.
For the follow-up of the agreements established at the time of these provincial councils, the Presidential Office of Provincial Development and the Presidential Office of Development of the Districts were created.
Las Terrenas Live, 17.07.09
Audeliza Solano makes gift of medical examination tables in El Limón
Estimated at 5.600 dollars
BREAKING NEWS: Audeliza Solano, native of the province of Samaná, made gift of two modern medical examination tables estimated at 2,800 dollars each one to the Natividad Alcalá Hospital of the Municipal District of El Limón, to which this equipment missed.
Audeliza gave the donation to the Director, the Administrator and to the medical team of the health centre and expressed her satisfaction by making this donation with which she contributes to improve the quality of the service that this hospital offers to the community.
Audeliza Solano will continue to equip all the hospitals in her province, thanks to the received support from Food for the Hungry United States and from the Dominican baseball player Miguel Batista who collaborate with the Samaritan Foundation.
Audeliza Solano is president founder of the Samaritan Foundation (FUNSAMANA), non-profit making institution which works with private resources to improve the living conditions of the very poor people of the country and especially in the province of Samaná.
Las Terrenas Live, 20.07.09
Tropical wave to bring scattered showers
Thunderstorms
BREAKING NEWS: An active tropical wave located south of Puerto Rico will bring weak to moderate showers with thunderstorms and isolated gusts of winds in all of the country’s regions.
A Tropical Wave south Puerto Rico, which shows a very extensive cloud mass, where wind gusts ranging from 35 to 50 kilometers per hour; widely scattered showers and thunderstorm could occur,
the National Meteorology Office (ONAMET) said Tuesday morning.
To follow the tropical wave in live, clik here.
Dominican Today, 21.07.09
Red Alert for 8 provinces
Onamet watches phenomena
BREAKING NEWS: The Center for Emergency Operations (COE) ordered a Red Alert for 8 provinces, while heavy rains caused by the appearance of a tropical wave began to be felt last night in much of the country.
The provinces under the maximum alert due to the danger of flooding and land slides are La Altagracia, Hato Mayor, La Romana, El Seibo, San Pedro de Macoris, Samana, Santo Domingo and Monte Plata. The COE also has a yellow alert in place for La Vega, Duarte (especially the Lower Yuna Basin), San Cristobal, Monsignor Nouel, Azua, and Sanchez Ramirez.
During a press conference held at the seat of the COE, the director of the National Meteorological Office reported that the tropical wave was located over the eastern part of the island and moving towards the west.
According to Onamet director Gloria Ceballos, the forecasts has discarded the possibility that the phenomena would become a tropical storm, even though she pointed out that her office is keeping wave under observation for any change during its time over the island.
She said that the strong rains could bring as much as 80 centimeters and possibly extend into tomorrow.
Next to Ceballos, Luis Cuevas, a member of the Operations Committee for Dams and Reservoirs, said that the water levels at the dams were adequate.
To follow the tropical wave in live, clik here.
Diario Libre, 22.07.09
Sectur launches several advertising campaigns
At the local and international level
BREAKING NEWS: The Tourism Ministry (Sectur) launched advertising campaigns which seek to penetrate the local market and to reaffirm that of the United States and of Europe, to make known the principal attractions of the Dominican destination.
This promotion effort, announced by the secretary of Tourism, Francisco Javier García, dimensions the diversity of the attractions which possesses the destination leader of the Caribbean, like the beaches, the mountains, the golf, the history, the gastronomy, the culture and especially, the hospitality of the Dominican people.
At the local level, the publicity campaign is called Turismo para Todos
(Tourism for Everybody), publicity which seeks to attract the Dominicans to encourage them to discover the tourist attractions of their country, with the slogans Este País es Único
(This country is Unique), Este es el País de las Maravillas
(It is the Country of the Wonders) and Este es el Mejor País del Mundo
(It is the Best Country of the World).
While in the United States, the publicity campaign draws its essence from the slogan República de los Colores
(Republic of Colors) whereas for Europe and the rest of the world, the slogan is República Dominicana… Lo Tiene Todo
(Dominican Republic… It has Everything).
During the launching of the publicity campaigns, García expressed that at the local level, the purpose of the promotion effort was to instill into the spirit of the Dominicans that tourism is for everybody, that holidays in paradisaical places of the country is not only reserved to the foreigners or to the well-off people.
The secretariat of Tourism will also make the promotion of tourist tours through the program Vuelta de Dominicana en 80 Caravanas
(Dominican Republic Tour in 80 Caravans), which will be excursions towards the various tourist destinations of the country.
In Dominican Republic, the advertising campaign will be diffused by various media of the written press, to the radio, television and on Internet.
It is a realization of the Uniko Advertising and Marketing Green agency, managed by the publicity agent Fernando Báez.
Las Terrenas Live, 23.07.09
The Dominican Republic consolidates its leadership
As tourist destination of the Caribbean
BREAKING NEWS: The Dominican Republic continues to consolidate its leadership as a first tourist destination of the Caribbean, despite it remains in the red figures.
In spite of the negative impact of the world economic crisis on the tourist flow from January to June, 2 million 145.957 people arrived in the country by air.
By comparing the arrival by plane of foreigner visitors during the same period (January-June 2008) a fall of 3.16% is observed.
According to the Central Bank data for the January-May 2009 period, the total arrival of the visitors reached 1 million 814 thousand 584, with the fact that in May, 6.972 additional tourists arrived. This for two causes: Change of destination of the visitors who had to travel to Mexico and who gave up it because of the H1N1 influenza and also thanks to the celebration of the Mother’s Day.
In June of this year, the arrival of the tourists decreased by 0.15%, which is equivalent to 498 tourists less than in June 2008.
56% foreigners arrived to Punta Cana, 18.32% arrived to Las Américas in Santo Domingo , 15.89% to Puerto Plata, 4.34% to La Romana and the remaining 4.95% arrived to the country trough the terminals of Cibao, of El Catey in Samaná and to La Isabela.
Las Terrenas Live, 24.07.09
The dislodged people of Los Haïtises receive 4 million pesos
Lands are still to be given to the farmers
BREAKING NEWS: The Secretariat of Environment distributed four million pesos to 123 dislodged people of the Los Haitises National Park, this belonging to the commitments assumed by the State.
With this amount, one reaches 21 million pesos delivered by the current management and 43 million on the totality since the protected sector was created in 1992.
This sum does not represent the real payment to which people should have right, it forms part of a compromise. The Government brings a part but the men and the women who lived in the National park of Los Haitises had also their responsibilities
exposed Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, secretary of Environment, during the ceremony of handing-over of the money.
According to the civil servant, the cultures and the criminal fires are the principal threat of the park.
Ramona Díaz thanked for the payment on behalf of the compensated people, but at the same time, she reminded Fernández Mirabal to accelerate the steps for the donation of the lands which remain to be delivered to the farmers.
In answer to this, the Secretary said that the Agricola Institute was locating the lands and that in the next days, it was going to convene the commission of Los Haitises to discuss what is missing.
Las Terrenas Live, 28.07.09
The Mahatma Gandhi Foundation sponsors a Dental Operation
Esperanza Internacional
BREAKING NEWS: LAS TERRENAS. - A dental operation carried out by Esperanza Internacional at the Anacaona Library benefited more than 100 children and 100 adults.
The event took place on last Friday and Saturday July 17 and 18, and was sponsored by the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation.
On Friday, they were the children who take part in the summer camps of the Foundation who benefited from the cares and on Saturday, it was the turn of the women who are attending the micro credit project of the Foundation.
This operation was completely free and drugs, when necessary, were also delivered.
The team of Esperanza Internacional was composed of 7 dentists and 4 specialists in dental hygiene.
The local team of the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation is made by local and foreign volunteers as well as by a significant group of young people of the community, members of the Independent Front of the Young people of Las Terrenas (FINJOLAT).
Las Terrenas Live, 29.07.09
Concert for a village
“Because Las Terrenas deserves the best”
BREAKING NEWS: LAS TERRENAS. - A selection of the best singers/authors accompanied by local talents, joined together so that Las Terrenas enjoys its FREE BEACHES…
Concert “Free Beaches”
Playa Las Terrenas (In front of Casa Blanca)
4-6:30 pm, Admission Free
Magic concert
La Bodega, 10-11:30 p.m., COVER $100 or superior donation
Las Terrenas Live, 31.07.09
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