The Dominican Republic…the next economic
epicenter in the Caribbean?
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| High Rise Hotel & Office Complex in Santo Domingo |
A nation that has had its fair share of turmoil, Dominic When I
asked out of curiosity about these soldiers who never seem to do much, I was
told by a Government employee that it is part of the defense strategy to ensure
that the history of turmoil will never recur. There is also the Local and a National
Police as well as a Tourism Police unit. For the most part foot patrolling is
the order of the day and in the capital Santo Domingo or Santiago the second
city, groups of police can be seen on almost every major block. There’s no need
to be concerned as they are usually easy going and never fail to greet you as
you approach them. I remember trying to find an open Bureau de Change in
Santiago one Saturday evening and asked a group of Policemen for help…one tried
to give me directions and when I explained that I didn’t understand, he walked
with me for nearly two blocks and pointed me to a Western Union that was still
opened.
ana
as it is referred to by many has had a colorful history including occupation by
the French, the Spanish and even the Americans…In fact, the US occupied DR from
1916 to 1924 and again from 1965 to 1966. Democracy came only in 1966 and
happily has lasted to the present time. In fact while driving around the
country; it is not unusual to see pockets of heavily armed Military personnel
stationed at strategic locations.
If you have never visited or spend time in DR, you could
have many misconceptions about the country. My first visit here almost a year
ago was a real eye opener. Language aside, with Spanish being the language,
there are many similarities between DR and Jamaica. The people are for the most
part easy going and friendly. Playing dominoes is a favorite past time and as
for the drinking and carousing…well; they are right up there with Jamaica. The
sound of music can be heard on almost every corner…in the capital the popular music
is called Bachata…a rhythmic pulsation pseudo-Latin beat which invites you to
break out in dance even in public spaces…the most popular drink is their
favorite beer “Presidente” which is available in the standard 355ml, 650ml and
one liter bottles…with prices ranging from 50 pesos or a little over U$1.00 to
110 pesos or U$ 2.50 for a one liter bottle… The rate of exchange though
inching up is relatively steady at just over 42 pesos for U$1.00.
Weekends are the highlight for most of the working class.
This is when the beaches are saturated with thousands of Dominicans
who seem to
love the beach as much or even more than we do in Jamaica. It’s typically a
family affair and this is where most of the activities take place on a Saturday
or Sunday. They make no apologies for enjoying their recreational time and they
eat, drink and just have a whale of a time on the beach where peddlers can be
seen moving from table to table selling everything from snacks to paintings and
anything between. The police are always on hand giving a watchful eye and every
now and then you may see a hustler being taking in. I have never seen anyone
being brutalized by the police and while this is not to say it doesn’t happen,
I simply have never seen it.
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| Boca Chica on Sunday |
The Tourism product though not half as well marketed as
Jamaica, is alive and well and only recently a Dominican who lives in the US
remarked that if only The Dominican Republic would learn from Jamaica how to
market the country as a Jamaica is still one of the most exotic
destinations in the region and many Dominicans that I have spoken with have a
burning desire to visit Jamaica…when they find out that I am Jamaican, the
response is usually the same…”Dios Mio” or oh my God…I wanna go there… I wanna
go there! Of course Bob Marley and many
other Jamaican entertainers are just as iconic here. The music of Shakademus
& Pliers “Murder She Wrote” for some reason is regularly played here on
both radio stations and in the night clubs and so is Sean Paul, Kartel, Bob
Marley, Pinchers and Shaggy to name a few. Some of the women, like those in
Jamaica can be regularly seen “backing it up” to the sound of Jamaican rhythms.
destination, they would have far more visitors than the
now have…last year there were some four million visitors to the country. I was informed
that they are now paying attention to Jamaica’s marketing style and plans are
afoot to increase visitor arrivals to ten million over the next ten years…this
could be either good or bad for Jamaica depending on how it is approached.
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| A Mega Store |
So why don’t we have a better exchange of visitors and
business between the two countries even though we are actually neighbors?
Well, for one thing, there is no direct connection between Jamaica and Santo
Domingo. Travelers must spend more than six hours in travel
and airport time to
get to a location that could be reached by direct flight in just over an hour.
To get to DR one must either go via Panama or Miami, in both cases travelers
are taken well out of their way…and at a much higher cost. On the other side
also, while Jamaicans do not require a visa to enter DR, Dominicans must go
through what they claim to be a long process to get a visa to visit Jamaica. I
have no idea why this is so and only the Jamaican Government can address that
issue…however, it seems rather strange that the open door policy accorded to our
citizens by the Government of DR is not reciprocated. I think this is a matter
in need of dialogue and change and should be addressed at the Diplomatic level.
There are many wealthy Dominicans who travel frequently and from what I have
learned, Europe is one of their favorite destinations, however, with the right
marketing approach I have no doubt that we could see encouraging numbers
stopping over in Jamaica.
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| Santo Domingo |
There is no secret that there have been small rifts between
the Dominican Republic and some members of the English speaking Caribbean.
There was the issue of bananas and quotas between Jamaica and the United Kingdom
and only recently the matter of a court ruling against the citizenship of
Haitians born in the Dominican Republic. That matter is still under review and
the US has now weighed in, bringing pressure on the government to have that
matter resolved. Incidentally, the Dominican Republic enjoys excellent
relations with the United States. It should also be pointed out that whilst I
cannot speak to the treatment of all Haitians in this country, the ones that I
have met are quite happy to be here. They work in many industries and happily
send home money for their families in Haiti. I have met Haitians here who are
business owners or attending college. In fact, it is said that three of every
five students in the Public School System is either Haitian or of Haitian
extract and a whopping fifteen thousand scholarships have been granted to
Haitians who are attending one of the many Universities here. As far as the
banana row is concerned, I think it’s now a non issue…and it should be noted
that one of Jamaica’s largest producers of bananas is importing their banana
and plantain chips from DR. A few months
ago I was taken on a visit to a shipping port on the western side of the
country close to the Haitian border and as far as the eyes could see there were
containers that were loaded and ready for shipping to mainly Europe…the
product, bananas. They were shipping more than one thousand containers a
week…now how do we match that?
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Juan Dolio located about forty minutes
east of the Capital…a magnet for foreigners…
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In March of 2013 I encouraged a colleague to journey with me
to DR to look at the possibilities of doing business there. In less than three
months I was able to secure a five thousand square foot space and convert it
into what is now the first Jamaican Bakery in DR…this is of course a mere drop
in the bucket since with a population of more than three million in the
capital, the surface has barely been scratched.
There is so much to do that could enhance the fortunes of both nations
but there seems to be an invisible hand preventing this from becoming a
reality. There is one thing that I know as a fact and that is the Dominican
Republic is open for business and many are coming…The Chinese, Germans,
Italians, Russians, Canadians and of course Americans are already here and
expanding almost daily. Of course it would be careless of me not to mention the
Venezuelans, Brazilians and Spanish…of course the Spanish never really left.
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| Food Court in an Indoor Mall |
A large consumer of brewed coffee, they produce their own
but again, whenever they hear about Jamaica’s Blue Mountain coffee they start
to salivate…a check with the large supermarket chains did not turn up an ounce
of Jamaican coffee. Our business people are constantly crying about market for
their products and sometimes travel far distances to sell a bit of this and
that but for some reason they fail to
look just across the fence at their neighbour…how ironic. As it stands at this time there is much work
needed and businesses in both nations will have to take the lead…forget about
governments because their objectives are not always in sync with those of the
people and their development. Moreover, the bureaucracy and waste of time that
usually occur when government gets involved can hold back progress for years if
not decades. A few Jamaican companies are already doing just that and one such
company is JMMB who established offices in both Santo Domingo and Santiago a
couple years ago.
Only late last year, there was a flurry of activities and talks
about storming DR by some sectors of the business world, so far I have not seen
much activity although I am reliably informed that one of our popular brands
should be making its That would certainly be good news for Jamaica
and more so the company. I have
personally contacted a few companies in Jamaica inviting them to look at this
country and also Haiti. In fact, Haiti seems to be doing much better with
companies like Digicel and Jamaica Broilers doing just fine in that country. There
are major investments and developments in many sectors of both countries with
common borders. Entrepreneurs and
businesses must dig deeper and not be led by the ramblings of politicians who
usually have their own agendas. One must get out of their comfort zone and
explore opportunities, after all, who sought advice from government when they
made decisions to start their business? Nobody asked the government if their
project would succeed or not, so why sit back and wait for these same people to
give the cue for you to do what you rightly ought to be doing for yourselves?
way here shortly.
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| Stunning Atlantic Coastline |
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| A Restaurant in The Capital |
Could this country that was experiencing growth of up to six
percent a few years ago see an uptick in economic growth again? The answer is a
resounding yes… if you speak to the average man on the street they will
probably say no but, like many of our citizens, they pay very little attention
to the economics of the country, they are more concerned about bread and butter
issues. Nevertheless, when you talk to some business people, they are more
optimistic. This piece of the Caribbean is being touted as one of the next
growth epicenters of the region and the signs are all around. The price of real estate which goes from low
to amazingly high in some regions is again inching upwards. That is a sign of
things to come and the savvy investor will capitalize on this market. You can
still find many bargains inside and outside of the city. With eight international
airports and a slew of smaller ones, several shipping ports and numerous
marinas for pleasure boating, nowhere is really difficult to reach. For the
most part, rent is moderate to cheap. In an area close to the International
airport and just off a major highway, with universities and all amenities within
ten minutes walk, you can rent a three bedroom, three bathroom apartment, in a gated community with twenty four hour
security for less than two hundred US a month.
I am told that just prior to the economic meltdown that rocked the world
a few years ago there was a major building boom and many of these properties
are still under occupied…that is however changing fast as the economy picks up.
G. James Palmer
Sonegen International S.R.L.
I.T. and Business Consultancy
Santiago, R. D.
Tel: 829. 321.1079 / 876.614.4512
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