Archive for November, 2021
Supermercado de la Cruz is a new spacious supermarket located in Pedro Clisante, not far from the town center of Sosua.
The supermarket has a nice parking place for 10 cars, plus available space on the street.
In this supermarket, you will find a good selection of products such as meat, poultry, dairy, bread, water (small to 5-gallon bottles), ice, vegetables, and fruits, a wide selection of alcohol, hygiene products, medicine, phone credit, and more.
It’s an air-conditioned place.
Try them out!
Delivery Service:
WhatsApp 809-571-1886
Sosua/Cabarete and the surrounding area
Opening hours:
8 am – 12 am every day
Address:
Calle Pedro Clisante #122, Sosua
(former La Pulga)
Dominican Republic
Map
https://goo.gl/maps/YRzdNmmDLTKpuKus9
The construction works of the Taíno Bay cruise terminal in Puerto Plata are in their final stage.
It was officially reported that this tourist pier will begin to operate next month on December 15th, the date on which the first two cruise ships will arrive in Taíno Bay. At the beginning of its operations, it is estimated that the port will receive one million tourists. The port will generate more than 6 thousand direct jobs executed through a public-private alliance by the Consortium Inversiones Mahahual / Puerto Plata Port Investment, with an economic investment of more than 126 million dollars.
It should be noted that with the new Taíno Bay cruise terminal, in “La Novia del Atlántico” there will be two modern tourist ports since the Amber Cove cruise terminal which began operations in November 2015, and Taino Bay.
Source: Puerto Plata Digital
Nov 14, 2021
PUERTO PLATA.- After almost two years, Air Canada and Sunwing airlines resumed their direct flights from Toronto and Montreal to Puerto Plata. As reported, the Air Canada Airbus A321 aircraft arrived on Monday, November 1st directly from Montreal to General Gregorio Luperón International Airport bringing a total of 154 passengers on board.
This new Air Canada operation is being served in the modern aircraft that includes Premium Rouge and Economy services, with entertainment options and high-speed Wi-Fi. Also, this Tuesday afternoon, the Sunwing airline made the inaugural flight of the Toronto-Puerto Plata route, which continues to reactivate the arrival of tourists from Canada and other countries that are the main source markets of tourists for the North Coast.
Source: Puerto Plata Digital
Nov 5, 2021
The Tax Agency (DGII) announced the start of the renewal of vehicular circulation permits (marbete). These will be issued through 31 January 2022. The Tax Agency says 1,550,776 vehicles need to show the sticker on their front windows to circulate. The procedure generates RD$2.38 billion for the government. The stickers cost RD$1,500 for vehicles dated 2016 or older and RD$3,000 for those manufactured from 2017.
Source: DR1, DGII
Nov 5, 2021
PUERTO PLATA.- Citizens of Cabarete, requested the intervention of the competent authorities in the face of what they described as “a major abuse” that was committed against a foreign investor.
The request was addressed to the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, and the Attorney General of the Republic, Mirian German Brito, asking that an embargo made on a property acquired by a US citizen in Cabarete get investigated. It is explained that the investor Rocky Ross bought commercial premises in the same center of Cabarete for more than 50 million pesos from Mr. Frank Brittingham, but the acquired property was seized for an alleged debt that the latter had with the third parties.
During a meeting with the press, Mr. Ross accompanied by the lawyer Martha Cabrera and former employees of his company “Rocky’s Aqua” expressed their dissatisfaction with the procedure of the irregular embargo carried out on his property. With tears in his eyes, the investor said that he never thought he would be a victim of this situation that he has been experiencing for four years, after buying that property in good faith and setting up a company legally, as it has in the United States.
“I only think of these employees who earned their families living in the 16 business premises that I own, which today do not have a job,” he stressed. Likewise, several citizens who worked in the closed company owned by Rocky Ross, with posters and banners in their hands, demanded that the Public Ministry act quickly since they have been going through calamities for three years and four months. The community leader José Francisco Rivera, assured that Mr. Rocky Ross, has been the victim of a scheme that tries to deprive him of his property acquired for the sum of US $ 665,000 where he invested the US $ 200,000 in the removal of him. Rivera asked President Luis Abinader and the Attorney General of the Republic, Miriam Germán, to act in this case to prevent the foreign investment climate from being affected in Cabarete by this type of unhealthy and perverse actions.
Source: Puerto Plata Digital
Nov 5, 2021
The Iberostar hotel group, the German government’s Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ), and the Ministry of Environment have launched a public-private partnership to encourage the involvement of the tourism sector in the implementation of solutions for the marine-coastal ecosystems in the Dominican Republic. The initiative seeks to contribute to the well-being of marine ecosystems through coral and mangrove restoration processes and advance in the regeneration of biodiversity-friendly ecosystems.
The parties acknowledge that tourism is an activity whose viability depends largely on the health of ecosystems. Iberostar seeks, through this alliance, to generate solutions that promote sustainable tourism, help mitigate the risks of climate change and protect the local population.
“From Grupo Iberostar we aspire to a responsible tourism model based on social, economic, environmental and climate resilience, which is integrated into local economies and contributes to enhancing coastal protection and recovery,” said Megan Morikawa, Global Director of Sustainability for Grupo Iberostar, upon making the announcement.
“We joined this alliance to protect and recover, through nature-based solutions, the seagrass ecosystems, coral reefs, mangroves, and other ecosystems of the Dominican Republic, a strategic country where we have made pioneering progress with our Wave of Change movement,” she added.
One of the central points driving this collaboration between Iberostar and GIZ is the creation of practices for sustainability, the development of an active coral reef restoration program, and a mangrove restoration project to increase the resilience of coastal destinations.
These public-private actions aim to share knowledge between Latin America and the Caribbean to address climate change and promote sustainability throughout the Dominican Republic with government support.
Svenja Paulino, director of the Biodiversity and Business Program in Central America and the Dominican Republic, affirms: “The participation of the private sector in the conservation and responsible use of ecosystem services is fundamental for the development of tourism and its reactivation after the COVID-19 pandemic. This alliance with Iberostar allows GIZ to continue promoting actions to protect biodiversity in the region and increasingly encourage the participation of different social actors in tourism.”
Source: DR1, Diario Libre
Nov 5, 2021
October 2021 set a new record for tourism arrivals in the month. In October, the number of non-resident arrivals peaked at 443,018, bringing the total for this pandemic year to 3,669,761 tourists arriving by air.
The forecast for the end of 2021, is that non-resident arrivals reach close to 4.9 million people. This would be a 15% rebound in tourism compared to the last four months of 2019.
“The recovery of our tourism is steady and solid. Today I announce to you that October registered the highest growth for that month in history,” said Minister David Collado when presenting the data for October at a press conference on 1 November 2021.
He stated that arrivals in October exceeded pre-pandemic October 2019 by 19% and October 2018 by 7%.
Non-resident foreign arrivals came from North America (44%) and Europe (35%). Russian arrivals are third in the influx of tourists to the country, reaching an all-time high of 49,521. This is 264% more than in 2019.
The numbers are positive even when countries such as Canada, France, and the United Kingdom have been discouraging travel due to the pandemic.
The Ministry of Tourism reports that 29% of the tourists who arrived in October were US nationals. Of these 57% stayed in hotels, 48% entered by way of Punta Cana International Airport, and 57% were aged 21 to 49 years old. The average stay of the visitors is seven days.
Flights to the Dominican Republic are returning to normalcy. In October, there were 3,795 flight operations, with an average occupancy of 75%. Around 115 airlines flew in from 122 airports in 45 countries.
Cruise ship arrivals are also recovering. The Ministry of Tourism reports there were 18 cruise ship dockings in October made by 15 ships. Of these three touched two Dominican ports on the same voyage. 34,396 cruise ship passengers visited the Dominican Republic in October. This is 52% more than in September. Six cruise lines docked at the ports of La Romana and Amber Cove (Puerto Plata).
The Ministry reports that lodging and food and beverage establishments employed 181,078 in 7,970 companies in September. The growth in the number of jobs was recorded mainly in lodging establishments (+41,468) and in food and beverage establishments (+37,391).
In October 2021, 87% of hotel rooms were open for booking, and 61% were occupied (69% during weekends). Domestic tourism was 19%.
Bookings for this winter season are looking very good. In effect, bookings for November and December are 16% and 19%, respectively higher than those for travel in the pre-pandemic year of November and December 2019. This compares to the average of bookings of 4.7% below 2019 levels for the rest of the Caribbean region.
Source: DR1, Ministry of Tourism
Nov 5, 2021
The Constitutional Court ruled annulling resolutions that banned mutual consent divorces in certain circumstances. Mutual consent divorces are fast-tracked.
The Constitutional Court accepted a direct action of unconstitutionality filed against Article 27 of Divorce Law 1306-BIS. The article prohibits the separation for the cause of mutual consent before two years of marriage, and after 30 years of marriage. Also when the husband is over 60 years of age and the wife is 50 years of age or more.
The Court established that this legal provision violates the right to equality established in Article 39 of the Constitution, which rules that no person may be discriminated against for reasons of age.
Source: DR1, El Caribe
Nov 4, 2021
The measure that suspends the issuing of visas to Haitian university students in the Dominican Republic will not affect students already in the country. The visas of these students will not be suspended, as had been wrongly interpreted. Only students requesting new visas are affected, according to the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
Mariasela Alvarez explained on Esta Noche con Mariasela that the local authorities had been carrying out most of the steps for the procedure here in the Dominican Republic after Haiti had asked for help given the little capacity for the procedures in that country due to the present government crisis. This extra assistance is what has been suspended.
The measure was announced after Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph responded to President Abinader’s tweet. Abinader had called for the international community, particularly the US, Canada, France, and the European Union, to act with Haiti and urgently. He had announced the DR will continue the announced plan with stricter migratory measures.
To which the Haitian foreign affairs head replied, “The Dominican Republic is experiencing an increase in crime as noted by the U.S. State Department in its travel alerts.”
Listin Diario explains that Haitian students regularly come to the Dominican Republic with tourist visas, then enroll in the university and, with that document, were authorized to go to the Ministry of Foreign Relations (Mirex) and apply for a student visa. Afterward, they go to Migration Agency (DGM) where they are issued a student card. These procedures cost between RD$10,000 and RD$12,000. Once the students graduate, many have received residence permits to work in the Dominican Republic and have stayed.
Listin Diario reports that according to statistics from the Ministry of Superior Education, as of 2019, 9,208 foreigners are studying in the Dominican Republic. Of these, 6,023 are Haitians. The second largest group is from the United States, with 1,558 students; 548 Venezuelans; 402 Puerto Ricans; 201 Colombians; 158 Cubans; 142 Spaniards; 62 Italians; 50 Peruvians; 64 Italians, and 52 Mexicans.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Nov 4, 2021
First Lady Raquel Arbaje calls for legislators to rectify the changes they have incorporated in the Penal Code that would allow violent discipline by parents towards children. In a tweet, the First Lady criticized that the legislators’ attempt to change the ruling of Article 123, Domestic Violence Law 24-97 and Rights of Children and Adolescents Law 136-03 to allow violent discipline by parents towards children.
Arbaje tweeted, “Approval of violent discipline in the draft Penal Code is a step backward in the protection of the rights of children and adolescents.”
Attached to this message, she posted a full statement from the National Council for Children and Adolescents (Conani) and the Cabinet for Children and Adolescents (Gana-FID), that she presides, where they warn Dominican society about the setback in the protection of rights if, as recommended by the bicameral committee that is studying the draft Penal Code, the changes are approved.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) had denounced on Wednesday, 3 November 2021 that the draft of the Penal Code would now allow parents to use physical punishment against their children. Unicef promotes positive discipline practices.
In a statement, the organization referred to a paragraph of article 123 of the proposed Penal Code, “which allows violent discipline in the home.” The Unicef statement says this would be a step backward on the current legislation.
In a press release, the Unicef representative in the country, Rosa Elcarte, pointed out that the Penal Code “must protect children against violent discipline” and that violence “is never and will never be the solution, because it does not educate, does not help and should not be tolerated.”
“In an upper-middle-income country, with the level of social and economic development that the Dominican Republic has, it cannot afford to have a Penal Code, in the 21st century, that authorizes parents to beat or mistreat their children, as was done in past decades,” Elcarte said.
The ENHOGAR 2019 survey, conducted by the National Statistics Office (ONE) with the support of Unicef, “showed a dramatic reality, and that is that, in Dominican territory, the highest percentage of children who suffer violent discipline is between the ages of 3 and 4,” the statement added.
Source: DR1, N Digital
Nov 4, 2021
