Archive for May, 2010
The Dominican Adventure Beckons
The Dominican Republic is a beautiful island which lies in the heart of the Caribbean islands it’s serene and naturally stunning beauty has made it over the years one of the holiday seeker’s most alluring places of refuge. Its sheer warmth and hospitality has made it a tourist’s haven much to the delight of the local people who have gone the extra mile to keep the estimated 3million yearly visitors like you and I coming by investing heavily in building new five star hotels airports to handle ever increasing traffic more and more resorts relaxation spots beaches and the like.
These facilities are commendably all state of the art and standard and one would expect them to cost a small fortune but surprisingly there’s also a lot of flexibility in the cost of making use of these facilities there are facilities to match the budgets of everyone from small medium to low meaning we can all go ahead and have fun no matter how lean our credit cards are.
The tiny island nation has also been attracting a lot of foreign financial investments lately making it a hot destination for business executives from as far out as Europe more especially with the setting up of the parque cibernetico cybernetic park. The parque cibernetico is a reserved area constructed to encourage technology based investors to set up shop in the tiny island nation. Many investors now come into the islands with the intention of staying and most have massive longterm infrastructural projects in the early planning stages. Government sources revealed that direct public and private investment figures hit the 1.9 billion mark by the end of year 2005 and this figure is expected to rise yearly.
The cape Cana tourism complex is one of the numerous beneficiaries of this recent flow of investment and it has a 10year development plan with estimated investment of about a billion dollars the complex boasts of 25000 square kilometer of land inclusive of about 8km of unspoiled beaches the complex is also expected upon completion to include hotels villas apartment buildings three 18hole golf courses and a marina. Antlantica a collection of resorts on the islands northern regions is also underway and initial investments are expected to hit 150 million mark. Some major hotel giants also have project underway in the islands notably the Hilton group. Already it has launched a local manages a local hotel chain called the coral hotels and it is looking to build on that undoubtedly because of the excellent tourism potentials the island holds. Hilton has also recently made a 40million dollar investment on a 21 storey 228 room edifice in the capital Santa Domingo and it is reputed to be the best in its class in the city.
The UK’s Buy bonus LTD also has made plans to put in over a 100 million dollar into a new hotel project.
Even as public and private investment continue to rise the government of the Dominican Republic have also shown an even stronger resolve and determination to win even more investors over as so as to continue to provide the much needed jobs for its people. Thus it plans to leverage more on the tourism potential of the island and focus less on its more traditional source of income which used to be agricultural exports such as Sugar Coffee and Cacao.
The Island nation’s president has also pledged to invest heavily on developing the Island’s basic infrastructure focusing on transportation highway development and rehabilitation water treatment plants waste treatment plants beach rehabilitation and the like as measures designed to bring in more tourists and ultimately more jobs
About the writer: www.travelandtours.blogspot.com
The Cultural Harmony In Laanta Lanta Fetival
The Laanta Lanta Festival is usually held in March every year at the old community in a small provincial town called Lanta Old Town in Koh Lanta Krabi Province in Thailand. The town is full of ancient Chinese style houses and the history of the town dates back to more that 100 years. This Lannta Lanta festival is a great exhibition of some of the cultural traditions of Thailand and many tourists come to this town at this time to witness this mega cultural extravaganza.
Authentic food and traditional entertainment are the main attractions in this festival. With variety of different meals and snack available throughout the three days of the festival the travelers can enjoy some of the fantastic cuisine and exotic drinks at many food and beverage booths. Because the festival is spread on the whole locale the visitors can also enjoy the vast natural beauty and local hospitality while traveling one point to another.
Performances of RongNgan and the traditional music and dances such as Sea Gypsies can be witnessed and enjoyed. The modern music is also in the process of filling the blanks while groups from every nook and corner of Thailand are performing their music live for the visitors. In the beach side stage reggae and jazz acts can be seen which surely will kindle the party atmosphere among the crowds.
Glimpse of the traditions of Thailand also can be seen in the rituals such as traditional boat floating ceremony which is conducted to caste away the bad spirits of the fesyval according to the Sea Gypsy believe. The cultural booths on the sides of the walk away display some of handicrafts of the locals such as traditional Muslim cloth weaving and crafts made of Toi leaves. The information about the special projects happening around the year in Koh Lanta region are also given to the visitors to invite them to make some contributions towards a good cause.
If some one interested in witnessing the Laanta Lanta Festival the place to stay is the Langham Place Koh Lanta which is one of the best luxury vacation spa resorts equipped with luxuries and comforts of a supreme Krabi luxury villa.
About the writer: Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing company that offers integrated Internet marketing solutions and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry. http://www.emarketingeye.com/
The City Of Manor Texas
Manor is the name of a small city east of Austin and this small community has many noteworthy attractions. The city was settled in 1872 when it was named after its first postmaster James Manor. Manor currently has an approximate population of 5500 a figure which was derived from the number of utility service connections and the city is twelve miles northeast of downtown Austin. Manor has an area of 1.1 square miles and in the 2000 census there were 405 households reported including around 289 families. 365 of the households in Manor reported children under the age of 18 living in the home and 47 of the households included married couples. The median age of the population of Manor is 32 years which is about average for the state of Texas. The racial makeup of Manor is quite diverse: 53 of the inhabitants report being White while 16 claims AfricanAmerican ancestry. 25 of the inhabitants report other racial backgrounds and 48 report some Hispanic or Latino ancestry and many of the residents are a combination of the above.
The median income in Manor for households and families is between 37000 and 42000 and the population has a slightly higher percentage of women than men. School students in Manor attend Manor Independent School district schools including Red Rock Elementary and since 30 of the population is under 18 years old there are many students in the Manor area. The average family size in Manor is 3.54 people with 9 of families reporting a relative over the age of 65 living in the household.
There have been numerous films and other theatrical productions filmed in the area some as a result of the small Texas town atmosphere such as the T.V. show “Friday Night Lights” which was partially filmed in the Manor Mustangs football field as well as the movie” What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” which was also filmed in Manor. Due to the reasonably flat terrain and frequent tornadoprone weather conditions parts of the movie “Twister” were filmed in Manor as well.
Manor is a rapidly growing community and is located on Highway 290 West fairly close to the intersection with I.H. 35. The recently built Highway 130 interchange with Highway 290 has made the city even more accessible since State Highway 130 now traverses from I.H. 35 all the way to Highway 71 East and is part of the new Central Texas Turnpike System which will soon be expanded and connect even more of central Texas.
The median home value in the Manor real estate market is about 73000 which is much less than the 200000 homes found in the nearby Austin real estate market. Manor is known for quiet living and a rural atmosphere but since Manor is also strategically located near the U.S. 183 corridor the community is very convenient for those who work in the hightech computer industry which is centered north of Austin. In fact the Chamber of Commerce in Manor proudly presented the Manor Chip Festival in 2007 to celebrate the computer and high tech industry as well as oldfashioned fun. The festival was held at the new High Tech High School in Manor in 2008 and proclaimed its motto to be “Let the chips fly” and featured familyoriented games and contests some utilizing chips in the races and games.
Some popular eateries in Manor include Ramos Restaurante a Mexican food place and Papa Geno’s Family Pizzeria a pizza joint. There is a lovely park in the Manor area called East Metropolitan Park which is located near U.S. 290 and the intersection with F.M. 973 and the park includes various ball fields an 18hole disc golf course playscapes ponds concession stands restrooms and hiking trails. Admittance to the park is free and it is open on a daily basis although there are nominal fees for the use of the swimming pool and certain ball fields. The park is in the process of expanding and will eventually include even more amenities but it currently provides all kinds of recreational opportunities for the residents of Manor and visitors alike.
Manor is an ideal place to raise a family and is affordable with close proximity to all areas of Travis County especially the northeast portion of the city. Its accessibility to other metropolitan areas such as Houston and other east Texas locations is also a plus since it is situated on Highway 290 East yet Manor offers a small town flavor and many advantages of rural life. Manor is a worth considering if one is relocating to central Texas and a great place to visit as well!
About the writer: Ki is a realtor that helps people looking for homes and condos in the Austin real estate market. His site has a search for Austin homes along with information on Manor Texas real estate.