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Puerto Plata, DR.- Puerto Plata is not growing as a hotel destination. This is an objective fact and not an opinion. That is what the Puerto Plata tourist class thinks, which they are expressing lately through platforms and in the most varied media. Cruises are increasing, but hotels are not.
Moreover, it is taken for granted that some establishments will soon be converted into tourist apartments. At least one of these hotels has already requested its readaptation as a vacation home; reliable sources in the area tell arecoa.com.
Puerto Plata tourism industry members have recently complained to the government about a “lack of interest in promoting the area.” The fall of tourists by air is an undeniable reality. Cruise ship passengers are visitors who barely spend a day in the destination, and their impact on the local economy is minimal.
This and previous governments have tried unsuccessfully to recover the pioneer destination of Dominican tourism, from Hipolito to Abinader through Leonel and Medina. The city was remodeled two decades ago, which returned to its former splendor, and the cruise ship hub was vigorously promoted.
But the thrust of a tourist destination is given by hotel investments, which generate labor for the sector and for other industries inherent to tourism. It has been years since Puerto Plata has invested in new establishments. And not only are new projects not being launched, but they are being disinvested—a lousy symptom, therefore, for the destination.
This had to be anticipated many years ago. There is a glut of rooms on the north coast and the east coast. Can we expect more of these conversions in the future? Do not be surprised there may be a downsizing of planned accommodations for the developments in Pedernales.
There is still a very high demand for rooms and hotel accommodations on the east coast, and this trend likely isn’t going to slow down any time soon. The problem with the north coast, and primarily Puerto Plata, is that the region has not been able to successfully restore its tourism might and glory despite moderate efforts made over the years. Back in the 80s and 90s, Puerto Plata was like the Cancun of DR. It was by far the most popular tourist destination on the island, but much of that changed by the early 2000s due to the urban deterioration of the area and a lack of investment by the government and the public and private sectors. Starting around the mid-2000s is when the vast majority of tourism investments started going to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata gradually became a “thing of the past”.