Dominican Republic

Remittances in Nov. jump 27% to US$707.5M

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 13:20:01 +0000

Remittances in Nov. jump 27% to US$707.5M admin Mon, 12/14/2020 - 13:20

Monday, December 14, 2020

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Remittances in Nov. jump 27% to US$707.5M

Santo Domingo.- The country received US$707.5 million in remittances last November, a 27% jump in relation to the US$557.1 million that arrived in the same month of 2019, the Central Bank revealed Sunday.

Between January and November 2020, the flow of remittances to the country was US$7.3 billion, a net increase of US$916.6 million compared to the US$6.4 billion received in the same period of 2019, or a 14.3% jump.

It highlighted that during 2019 the country received US$7.08 billion in remittances, which means that that sector of the economy will close 2020 with positive numbers.

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Caribbean tourism now bouncing back

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 14:40:01 +0000

Caribbean tourism now bouncing back

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admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 14:40

Thursday, June 2, 2022

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Caribbean tourism now bouncing back

The Caribbean’s tourism renaissance is well underway, with some destinations approaching or exceeding record visitor arrival numbers.

Tourism officials cite pent-up traveller demand, the elimination or significant reduction in travel restrictions, the return of airlift, attractive deals and packages being offered by hotels, and a range of destination and hotel choices and upgrades that are now in place as key factors for the rebound.

Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) President Nicola Madden-Greig applauded the region’s tourism, health and government leaders for their work over the past two years to position the region’s largest industry to recover from the pandemic.

Madden-Greig pointed to the announcement last month by the World Travel and Tourism Council at its global summit in Manila, recognising the Caribbean and Latin America as leading the global tourism recovery.

“Today’s traveller has many choices when planning a Caribbean getaway, thanks to the efforts of so many. Over the past decade we’ve seen an explosion of new and upgraded hotels and infrastructure improvements.

During the pandemic many hotels and attractions used the time to improve on their product and service offerings, also recognising the changing needs of the discerning traveller.

“We continue to offer accommodation experiences which appeal to the full range of traveller interests. Beyond our world-famous beaches and waters, travellers can experience our diverse cultural, culinary and historic treasures. And we’ve worked diligently to put in place health safety protocols which are effective and as nonintrusive as possible,” she stated.

Madden-Greig noted that on average, hotels and resorts in the Caribbean will approach close to 80 per cent of their record pre-pandemic performance this year, with some destinations setting all-time records.

Cruise ships are returning, which is especially important to attractions, transportation providers such as independent taxis, and small- and medium-sized vendors. In addition, investment in new and upgraded hotels and resorts has not slowed.

“These are all great indicators which point to traveller confidence and demand for the Caribbean. We are seeing the fruits of years of hard work by the industry and governments throughout the region to invest in our tourism product and our people, and to broaden our appeal as we find new ways to provide a diverse and exciting experience for our visitors,” said Madden-Greig.

“Travellers to the Caribbean can discover our diverse offerings by land or sea, by a cruise vacation, or a coveted, longer in-destination stay for a more immersive experience.

“It has never been easier to do the Caribbean ‘your way’ and there are options for every interest and every budget. From high-end luxury accommodations on land or on sea to cozy cottages and apartments,” she added.

CHTA’s Acting CEO and Director General Vanessa Ledesma echoed these thoughts recently at the Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS). Pointing to data from ForwardKeys, Ledesma highlighted the strong interest in the region for summer and fall travel.

“This is reflective of the travellers’ mindset with the accessibility of the region, brand identity and management of the pandemic being key elements that are driving demand,” she said.

ForwardKeys, CHTA’s data partner, recently reported that the Caribbean and Latin America were leading the summer outlook in terms of the return of leisure travel, noting that five destinations – Aruba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Mexico and The Bahamas – were among the “most resilient” based on confirmed arrivals for the summer.

Developer confidence is also evident in STR’s most current pipeline report, with close to 30,000 rooms in development or under construction over the next five years.

Madden-Greig pointed to new challenges facing the industry, as inflation is resulting in higher operating and travel costs and the uncertainty in Eastern Europe impacts travel.

“While the cost of travel increases worldwide due to these and other factors, we will continue to focus on providing value and exceptional traveler experiences,” said the CHTA leader.

“This is particularly important in our highly competitive global marketplace. Despite these challenges, we anticipate over the coming weeks and months to see a proliferation of deals and special offers by the industry to continue to appeal to travellers’ desire to come to the Caribbean,” she said. (PR)

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Dominican poverty: from 23.36% to 23.85% in 2021

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 13:50:01 +0000

Dominican poverty: from 23.36% to 23.85% in 2021

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admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 13:50

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

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Poverty – Dominican Today

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Dominican poverty: from 23.36% to 23.85% in 2021

Santo Domingo.- Poverty in the Dominican Republic went from 23.36% to 23.85% in 2021, for an increase of 0.49 percentage points compared to 2020, according to data released this Monday by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development.
Meanwhile, extreme poverty registered a reduction of 0.45 percentage points, after going from 3.51% in 2020 to 3.06% in 2021, according to the data that is part of the Official Monetary Poverty Statistics Bulletin.
Monetary poverty is directly related to real household income, which decreased 3.83% as a result of the combined effect of the increase in nominal income and inflation, which reached 8.5% in 2021, the information said.

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Living Standard

Dominican Republic seeks help for Haiti, again

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 13:50:01 +0000

Dominican Republic seeks help for Haiti, again

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admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 13:50

Thursday, June 2, 2022

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Poverty – Dominican Today

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Dominican Republic seeks help for Haiti, again

Santo Domingo.- The United States assured Wednesday that it plans to discuss the Haitian crisis with the leaders of the region at the next Summit of the Americas, among the issues are access to health and migration.

When asked about the issues they want to address about the multiple crises Haiti is facing, Brian A. Nichols, Under Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said they are focused on addressing various elements that can benefit the Haitian people.

“Access to health is one, changes in the way we approach some economic issues, obviously migration, which is an area where we have to do more to support and engage Haiti, there are many interesting things in that area.”

Years of pleading

For years Dominican Republic has pleaded for help for its impoverished neighbor in Hispaniola.

Caribbean

Living Standard

Less talk more action, Dominican leader on Haiti

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 13:50:01 +0000

Less talk more action, Dominican leader on Haiti

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admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 13:50

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

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Poverty – Dominican Today

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Less talk more action, Dominican leader on Haiti

Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader asked the international community this Wednesday to stop so many speeches and come to the aid of Haiti.

Speaking to journalists upon his arrival this Wednesday in the city of Los Angeles, United States, to participate in the ninth Summit of the Americas, the Dominican president emphasized that the international community has already held too many workshops in relation to Haiti.

“We are going to touch on the migration issue basically that the international community has to pay attention to Haiti. Since they stop so much talk, stop so many opinions, they have already done too many workshops, they have to act in relation to Haiti”, he said.

Abinader maintained that the Dominican Republic “has already done too much, it has already done a lot for Haiti.”

“Now the international community has to go to pacify that country and we are going to speak and insist on that,” said the president

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Binational market develops normally despite threats of civil war in Haiti

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 22:50:01 +0000

Binational market develops normally despite threats of civil war in Haiti

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 22:50

Friday, June 17, 2022

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Local – Dominican Today

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Binational market develops normally despite threats of civil war in Haiti

Pedernales. – The binational market was very active on this border, despite the threat of the gang leader Fanton Susan Nef (509) to provoke a civil war in Haiti due to the military persecution against him.

Commercial activity is dynamic with the flow of Haitians who pass to this site in search of food for humans and animals and the purchase of rebar, cement, sand, and other construction materials.

Likewise, thousands of Haitians are seen circulating in this area’s streets, doing motoconcho, venduteras, construction, and other activities.

Meanwhile, the immigration and military authorities of the Dominican Republic activated actions against undocumented immigrants and increased their presence in the border division.

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Mistreatment of the elderly on the rise

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 22:50:01 +0000

Mistreatment of the elderly on the rise

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 22:50

Friday, June 17, 2022

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Local – Dominican Today

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Mistreatment of the elderly on the rise

Santo Domingo, DR
The National Council received at least 259 complaints of abuse and mistreatment of older adults for the Elderly (Conape) in the first six months of this year.

Among the most common cases of abuse reported to the state agency are family conflicts, psychological mistreatment, abandonment, and violation of property rights. However, we also receive economic and physical injustice, negligence, and neglect reports.

The details were offered by Conape executives this past Wednesday during the commemoration of the World Day of Awareness on Abuse and Mistreatment of the Elderly, where the director of the organization, Dr. Jose Garcia Ramirez, took the opportunity to ask the members of Congress to modify the Law 352-97 on the Protection of the Elderly because it has no regime of consequences or sanctions established for those who violate its provisions.

The data on the cases of denunciations were offered by Yiseel Alcántara, in charge of the Department of Denunciations and Follow-up of Cases of CONAPE. She revealed that between January and June of this year, 2022, the agency had received 259 complaints of abuse and mistreatment of older adults, of which 85% have been resolved, and the remaining 39, representing 15% of the same, are in the process of follow-up.

Attorney Danissa Cruz, in charge of the special prosecutor’s office for the elderly, cited that the risk factors that can lead to abuse and mistreatment of the elderly are dependency, disability, psychological disorders, and social isolation.

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Residents nearly lynch man who tried to steal tricycle from disabled person

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 22:50:01 +0000

Residents nearly lynch man who tried to steal tricycle from disabled person

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 22:50

Friday, June 17, 2022

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Local – Dominican Today

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Residents nearly lynch man who tried to steal tricycle from disabled person

Loma de Cabrera. Angry residents attacked a man with sticks and stones after he was allegedly caught when he tried to rob a disabled person of a tricycle in this municipality’s community of Laja Campeche.

Juan Contreras Solís, nicknamed “Deli,” 26 years old, resident of Río Limpio of this town, has a contused wound in the left frontal region and lacerations in various parts of the body.

Read more: Mob lynches alleged thief in Pantoja.
The National Police reported that the incident occurred on Thursday when the disabled man, Tomas Nunez Estevez, 55, was riding a motorcycle.

He said that the alleged thief was taken to the hospital Ramon A. Villalona, of Loma de Cabrera, where he is being held in police custody for the corresponding legal purposes.

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Covid-19 spreads with great force in 28 provinces

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 22:50:01 +0000

Covid-19 spreads with great force in 28 provinces

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 22:50

Friday, June 17, 2022

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Local – Dominican Today

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Covid-19 spreads with great force in 28 provinces

Santo Domingo, DR
Between one and 200 new cases of the Covid-19 virus were reported yesterday in most of the country’s provinces, leaving only Barahona, Elías Piña, Monseñor Nouel, and Peravia with no reports of new infections in the last 24 hours.

However, it should be noted that between the bulletin issued by the Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday and yesterday, Thursday, the provinces that do not report positive cases were not tested for any significant diagnostic tests.

In Barahona, for Thursday’s bulletin, only three tests were done, and they were negative; in Elías Piña, only one test was done, and it was negative; in Monseñor Nouel, only one negative test was done, and in Peravia, no new test was reported.

Last Wednesday’s bulletin registered 101 positive cases in Peravia, but in yesterday’s report, no new tests were done.

At the national level, the country reported 903 new positive cases of Covid-19, captured in 7,283 samples processed, of which 40 were PCR and 7,243 antigen samples.

Positivity in 15.21%.

Out of every 100 samples processed yesterday, more than 15 were positive, placing the daily positivity at 15.21%. The accumulated positivity for the last four weeks showed a slight increase, reaching 9.24% yesterday, while it had been reported at 8.75% the previous day.

According to yesterday’s epidemiological report, the National District reported 199 new positive diagnoses; the province of Santo Domingo said 193 cases; Puerto Plata, 130 cases; Santiago, 55 and La Altagracia reported 47 new infections, while the other provinces with positive reports registered less than 40 cases.

Deaths from the disease continued at 4,382 deaths, as no new deaths were reported yesterday, with a case fatality rate of 0.74%.

Infectious cases
The country has registered 3,576 active cases of the virus and a total of 594,964 positive diagnoses since March 2020 to date, according to the report of epidemiological bulletin number 819 released yesterday by the General Directorate of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health.

Hospitalized

As of yesterday, the country reports 207 patients hospitalized due to the disease caused by the Covid-19 virus, occupying 8.7% of the available beds.

Yesterday, 30 patients were admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, three under ventilation, with occupancy rates of 5.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

According to the latest sequencing of positive samples analyzed at the Dr. Defilló National Laboratory, two subvariants of the Covid-19 omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2, are circulating in the country.

Within the risk groups, the system reports that the virus has been detected in 71,345 children under 20 years of age, 1,885 pregnant women, and 2,337 health care workers.

In 23.09% of the deceased, it is reported that they had hypertension as an underlying disease, and in 14.45%, diabetes.

To date, 3,425,307 laboratory tests have been processed in the country to rule out or confirm the presence of the virus.

The coronavirus causing Covid-19 broke out in the People’s Republic of China in December 2019 and quickly spread to the rest of Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa.

The new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has resulted in 537 million infected and more than six million deaths worldwide.

APPOINTS
Main hotspots
The National District continues to be the main infectious focus of Covid-19, with a record of 199 cases yesterday, followed by Santo Domingo province, with 193 cases.

The tourist provinces of Puerto Plata had 130 cases and La Altagracia, 47.

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300 Caribbean get help through CATAPULT grant

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 07:40:01 +0000

300 Caribbean get help through CATAPULT grant

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 07:40

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

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300 Caribbean get help through CATAPULT grant

The CATAPULT Caribbean COVID-19 Relief Arts Grant is in the second year of a partnership between Kingston Creative, the American Friends of Jamaica and the Open Society Foundations that has delivered over half a million US dollars in support to the arts community.

This year, by offering relief grants to 300 creatives of US$500 each, the grant has helped to complete arts projects, purchase equipment and cover living expenses for Caribbean artists in dire straits due to the impact of the pandemic.

436 creatives applied from 23 countries across the Caribbean and these were narrowed down to 300 recipients by a panel of jurors: Anna Maria Hernandez (Aruba), Holly Byone (St. Vincent & the Grenadines), Juan Francisco Pardo (Aruba), Natalie Urquhart (Cayman Islands), Nicholas Laughlin (Trinidad & Tobago), Sara Shabaka (Jamaica) and Simone Harris (Jamaica).

All 436 grant applicants will also be added to the Caribbean Creative Network, a publicly accessible artist directory developed by Kingston Creative to increase visibility, market access and earnings for artists across the Caribbean. The online database will serve as a resource that the public can use to find, hire and easily partner with creatives for both international and local projects.

Many artists expressed that the grant not only helped them financially, but also served as a symbol of validation for their artistic practice.

“As professional artists we face a lot of unique challenges, chief among them is not being taken seriously,” Jamaican artist, Īṣā Orí expressed.

“Nonetheless, I am equally comforted and motivated to know that there are organisations like the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) and Catapult, who not just believe in us, but are also willing to help us.”

The grant also helped artists to find working and studio space to produce their art.

“Since I received the grant, I was able to find my own place where I can now work on my projects in a more focused way. I’m now writing again and also working on my next show,” said El Bacalao, a creative from the Dominican Republic.

The partners of the CATAPULT programme are also satisfied with the outcome of the grant’s second iteration.

Wendy Hart, President of the American Friends of Jamaica, said: “The CATAPULT partnership has been focused on both the immediate needs of artists and building opportunities for the future. It is a shared vision of impact and a commitment to the future of the creative community”.

“We are very thankful that with the help of our international partners we were able to assist creatives in this way for a second year,” said Khadijah Chang, Project Manager for the CATAPULT Arts Grant.

“We are especially excited about how impactful the Caribbean Creative Network will be as it is part of a long-term strategy to help creatives across the Caribbean to network and earn more income.”

“Open Society Foundations is privileged to support this second edition of the CATAPULT initiative. In times of COVID, Caribbean artists, their families and their work continue to be impacted in multiple ways, having a detrimental effect on the whole of our societies. We look forward to continuing to support artists and artists’ organisations in the region,” said Auro Fraser, Open Society Foundations’ Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean.

For more information on the CATAPULT Arts Grant, visit https://catapultarts.com/ and for more information on the Caribbean Creative Network, kindly email info@kingstoncreative.org. (PR)

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