LA ALTAGRACIA ECONOMY

Economy

The most important economic activities in the province are farming (cattle and sugar cane) and tourism. The eastern coast of the province, in the region of Punta Cana and Bvaro, is the most important touristic center of the country with many hotels along beaches with white sand. Bayahibe, in the southern coast, is also an important touristic center.

Ibero Star Grand Bvaro

PUNTA CANA Punta Cana is part of the newly created Punta Cana-Bvaro-Veron-Macao municipal district in La Altagracia, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area is best known for its beaches and balnearios, which face both the Caribbean and Atlantic, and it has been a popular tourist destination since the 1970s. The Punta Cana area has an estimated population of 100,000 with a growth rate of six percent.To the north, it borders the village and beach of Cabeza de Toro, and then the Bvaro and El Cortecito beaches. The nearest city, the 500-yearold capital of the Province Higey, is 45 kilometres (28 mi) away, and it takes

about an hour to drive there. Europeans, particularly Spanish hotel chains, own all but two of the 50+ megaresorts of the Punta Cana tourism destination.

Macao beach

El Cortecito beach

HOTELS and resorts

SIVORY PUNTA CANA

DREAMS PALM BEACH PUNTA CANA

Hard rock hotel and casino Punta Cana

Higey (Spanish pronunciation: [iwei], or in full Salvalen de Higey, is the capital city of the eastern province of La Altagracia, in the Dominican Republic. The Yuma river flows through the urban areas of Higey. Higey is also the denomination of a former native chiefdom in the east of the Island at the arrival of Christopher Columbus. This region conserves the name that is given also to its city main province La Altagracia. It is one of the economically fastest-developing cities in the country, and dubbed the Capital of Dominican Tourism and sometimes the Capital of Stockbreeding. Higey's population topped 150,000 inhabitants as of 2006. The city thrives chiefly on tourism, with many of its inhabitants employed in the hotel complexes of Punta Cana a few kilometers away, or in the commerce of tourist products. The most important monuments in the city are the Basilica of La Altagracia and the Church of San Dionisio (Saint Denis), from the 16th century.

Fifty kilometers from the tourist region of Punta Cana, the town of Higey is home to the Parish Church of San Dionisio, one of the oldest churches in the Americas and an important landmark in the Dominican Republic. Consecrated in 1572 on the site of an earlier structure from 1512, the church is dedicated to the Virgin of Altagracia. The one-story church and two-story bell tower are constructed of limestone and brick in a baroque, Spanish colonial style that has been altered over the years with Victorian details.

The cult of the Virgin is closely tied to Dominican identity; the Virgin of Altagracia is considered the protective mother of the Dominican people.

Because of this association and its proximity to tourist resorts, the church receives more than 450,000 visitors a year. Yet, deferred maintenance due to insufficient resources has resulted in the deterioration of the San Dionisio. A regional organization devoted to sustainable tourism has recognized the need to protect the historic church and believes inclusion on the World Monuments Watch can help raise awareness for conservation and long-term stewardship of the church, recognizing it as an invaluable asset to the cultural life of the community and an emblem of the important history of the Dominican Republic.

The Baslica Catedral Nuestra Seora de la Altagracia is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and cathedral dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary located in Salvalen de Higey, Dominican Republic. The basilica is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Seora de la Altagracia en Higey. The basilica was decreed on December 17, 1970. Among the many reasons that inspired its creation, there is one that highlights among the rest. A long time ago a little girl from same

city asked her father for a portrait of the Virgin Mary. Her father (name unknown) brought the picture as gift for the little girl. It is believed that the portrait was placed at the house of this little girl, but for some reason, at the brake of dawn of each day the portrait was always found outside the house, beneath a small tree. Every day this portrait was moved back inside by the girl, until she told her parents about it. The place became sacred, and the basilica was built on that same spot as reference of Mary's grace.

Bvaro

Bvaro is a touristic area in Punta Cana, located in La Altagracia province, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. Bavaro was developed together with the resort area and tourist region of Punta Cana, as a town for resort workers. As hotels started to rise along the east coast, north from Punta Cana, Bavaro itself became a center of services.

Road network Bavaro starts from a crossroad Veron, after the town of Higuey and the small village of Otra Banda, and extends 15 kilometers north until the crossroad for Macao Beach. Other beaches to the North include Uvero Alto beach, Roco Ki beach, La Vacama beach. Bavaro has 10 kilometers of sea shore. At the center of Bavaro is the crossroad of Friusa. Beyond the crossroad Veron, on the right side is an important road to Cabeza de Toro, most eastern tip of the island of Hispaniola, and the Dominican Republic as well. Next crossroad, El Coco Loco, leads to the Friusa Centar and further points north.

Hotels, bars and restaurants The oldest hotel in the area, Barcelo, is past the crossroad Coco Loco and Villas Bavaro I and II (left side). One of the newest hotels is the Now Larimar Resort. The Cocotal Golf course is in front of three Melia Hotels (Paradisus Palma Real, Melia Caribe and Tropical) and between, the shopping mall, Plaza Palma Real. Beyond the Melia Hotels is El Cortecito, heart of the Bavaro and some people say small fisherman village. Actually El Cortecito was

established by Mr. Cedeo from Higuey as a carpenters' spot (from Spanish, corte - cut). The first sand road was connecting Punta Cana International Airport and some hotels, passing just next to the Sea. The oldest building in Los Corales (where El Cortecito starts) is Pirata, the brown building where are three beach bars: Bamboo bar, Soles and Umi. Cortecito has a lot of restaurants, Capitan Cook is most famous one, and lots of gift shops. El Cortecito ends, following the road, in Haiti Chiquito, are with a Haitian workers.

Paradisus Palma Real

Other facilities The next crossroad, Plaza Bavaro, is full of gift shops, and can take you to discotheque Mangu and Areito, as well as to the White Sands golf course. Turning left on Plaza Bavaro crossroad, you will come to the Friusa crossroad. As you can see, there is only one main street in Bavaro, that goes in circle. Office of Politur (Turistic Policia or Tourist Police) is next to the bus station, close to Friusa. On the part of the road from Plaza Bavaro to Friusa, you will find many Hospitals, Shopping malls with bars and restaurants. Bavaro is ending on the crossroad to Macao, where the Hotel RIU is located

Punta Cana International Airport (IATA: PUJ, ICAO: MDPC) is a privately owned commercial airport in Punta Cana, eastern Dominican Republic. The airport is built in a traditional Dominican style with open-air terminals with their roofs covered in palm fronds. Grupo PuntaCana built the Punta Cana International Airport in 1984. A number of scheduled and charter airlines fly to Punta Cana. Currently, there are more than 4.5 million annual passenger movements in more than 15,000 commercial aircraft operations.The operators of the airport, Grupo Punta Cana, expanded the facility in November 2011 with a new runway and Air Traffic Control tower designed to support the robust growth of travel to the region. Punta Cana's airport is the leading point of entry in number of arriving passengers in the Dominican Republic. It is also the fastest growing airport with almost a 20% increase in traffic yearly, which indicates that in less than 5 years the aircraft movements will double. At the moment the airport counts on two international

terminals, one VIP, domestics and an FBO, a main incline with 12 positions. Cancun International Airport, Havana International Airport and Punta Cana International Airport are the only Caribbean airports with connecting flights to Russia. In the Caribbean, Punta Cana International Airport is the third busiest airport, surpassed only by Cancun International Airport, in Cancun, Mexico and by Luis Muoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which are the first and the second busiest airports in the region, respectively.