The Dominican Republic is having a moment. Ten million tourists a year flock to its beaches, helping to grow one of the region’s most powerful economies. Poverty is near record lows and investment is at an all-time high. Even Fast and furious star Vin Diesel wants to build a film studio there.
Its success stands in stark contrast to that of the country on the other side of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, Haiti, where rising crime and violence are ravaging the nation.
President Luis Abinader takes credit for the Dominican Republic’s boom, pointing to his business-oriented, low-drama management style that has made the country a darling of investors and tourists. In the process, it also made him the favorite to win Sunday’s presidential election.
The vote is “a referendum on the actions we have taken over the last four years,” Abinader wrote in a social media post earlier this week. “The best is yet to come.”
The Dominican Republic’s economy is projected to grow 4.4% this year. The country of 11 million people recently overtook Ecuador (population 18 million) to become the seventh largest economy in the hemisphere.
But critics say the rise is due to rising government debt, bloated social programs and fears that Haiti’s chaos could spread.
“The government is very good at promoting the idea of economic well-being, which people on the street just don’t feel,” said Leonel Fernandez, who was president from 1996-2000 and again from 2004-2012 and is the No. 2 president. contender on the ballot this weekend.
Polls show inflation, the economy, crime and Haiti are voters’ top concerns. But those same polls also show Abinader heading for re-election.
Abinader and his Modern Revolution Party are poised to win 60% of the vote, followed by Fernandez and his Popular Power party with 25%, according to a Gallup-RCC Media poll. Diario Libre 9th May. Abel Martinez, representing the Dominican Republic Liberation Party, trails with 11% support. Other polls show a tighter race, but Abinader is still in the lead.
If any candidate receives more than half the votes, he will be the winner. Otherwise, the top two will compete in a runoff on June 30, where Abinader will face a much tighter race.
Abinader, 56, acknowledges the risks Haiti poses to the Dominican Republic but rejects the idea that his country has a special responsibility for its neighbor’s reconstruction. Haiti’s powerful gangs have taken over much of the capital as violence and famine grip the country. The country recently installed a transitional governing council and is expecting a Kenyan-led multinational security force, but chaos still reigns.
Although Haiti and the Dominican Republic share a 240-mile border, they are on different continents. Abinader is trying to maintain this situation by prioritizing construction of the border wall, increasing deportations and calling on the international community to intervene.
Haiti “is one of the biggest challenges the Dominican Republic has faced in decades,” Abinader said at an event in Washington last week. Increased border security has “depleted the resources we need for economic development.”
Wall Street appears to approve of Abinader’s strategy. Even as he increased the government’s debt load by 30% during his tenure, the extra yield investors demand to hold the country’s overseas bonds has fallen by more than half since mid-2022, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. data. Barclays Plc and BancTrust recommend that investors buy dollar-denominated securities. Money managers from Vontobel Asset Management to M&G Investment Management and Eaton Vance are also promoting the country’s local banknotes.
“The government has actually done a pretty good job, not only to please investors but also to please its own population,” said Carlos de Souza, portfolio manager at Vontobel Asset Management in Zurich.
Tourist wave
Abinader was executive president of Grupo Abicor, his family’s tourism development firm, and director of the National Hotel and Restaurant Association before winning the 2020 election with 53% of the vote.
As president, he remained in his wheelhouse. Following the pandemic, the Dominican Republic reopened to tourists much earlier than most Caribbean countries and is still reaping the benefits. Last year, the country received more than 10 million visitors, a record. (International tourism to Haiti has declined as airlines have suspended flights and Royal Caribbean has stopped cruises to its private peninsula in Haiti.)
Abinader promotes the industry as a way to support neglected corners of the country and diversify the economy. In all, the government says there are 19 major projects worth more than $2.9 billion in the works, ranging from cruise ports and airports to large-scale hotel projects.
However, for many Dominicans, the influx of visitors is not about progress, but about rising prices and gentrification. Home values jumped 24% from 2020 to 2024, and the rise was even greater in tourist areas, which have seen an influx of foreign buyers.
“The general feeling in the country is that tourism will save us, bring us jobs and income,” said Moraima Capellan Pichardo, who works with the environmental group Cabarete Sostenible. “But what we are seeing is people being displaced by rising prices and houses being built that no local person here will ever be able to afford.”
Few projects reflect government strategy like Punta Bergantin. On 2,400 acres of beach on the north coast, the government is promoting an eco-friendly resort that it says will include 4,000 hotel rooms, more than 2,000 residences, a golf course, hospital, water park and tennis club.
Tourism officials say they already have commitments from Grupo Puntacana in an alliance with Melia Hotels International; Grupo Martinón, which operates the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brands; and Karizma Hotels.
Andres Marranzini, who heads the Punta Bergantin project, says more than half of the $800 million needed for the first phase has already been allocated.
The project also includes a 148-acre film site. Fast and Furious Diesel’s One Race Films star signed memorandum on an understanding with Avinader in 2021 for its development. One Race Firms referred calls about the job to its talent agency, which did not respond to emails or messages. Marranzini said the project is “definitely on track.”
Last month, officials announced that Bergantine would also be home to an innovation center it calls “Silicon Beach.” They envision bringing together government agencies, academia and the private sector to create a technology incubator and accelerator. Officials have not yet announced the price for the complex.
One of the country’s main goals is to become a semiconductor manufacturing hub for the US market, which is trying to break away from Asia. While that goal is still a long way off, projects like this could attract the talent and workers needed to make it possible, according to Economy Minister Pavel Isa Contreras.
Juan Ureña, a 74-year-old carpenter, visited Bergantine last weekend after hearing an election ad on the radio that led him to believe the area was ready to start welcoming thousands of tourists and Hollywood celebrities. But other than the newly paved road and a sign warning him to stay away, there wasn’t much to see.
“They’ve been talking about this for years, but there’s nothing here,” Ureña said, standing next to a dense forest on the beach. “I have a feeling they are just discussing this to get our votes.”
The government says it will take time to realize the country’s broader vision, with construction of Punta Bergantin starting in earnest in August – the same month Abinader hopes to begin his second term.