RESPONSIBLE TOURISM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DESTINATIONS M


ost trips to the Dominican Republic don’t begin in a


darkened conference room at the Royalton Punta Cana hotel. They tend to involve poolside cocktails, white-sand beaches and clear Caribbean water. But it’s here, in a presentation by the Tui Care Foundation, that another side of the country’s tourism industry comes to light. Reverberating under the skin of this tourist hotspot are the same problems that affect many developing nations. There’s a lack of prospects for young people,


with 30% unemployed, of whom more than two-thirds are female. As in many countries around the world, poverty, early pregnancy and family issues impede the potential of future generations. The Dominican Republic has the region’s highest child marriage figure and the fifth- highest youth pregnancy rate (about 30% of girls are pregnant by the age of 19), factors which are also responsible for 44% of school dropouts. And without education and employment, many end up in ‘informal’


work, including the sex trade. These societal problems


The Tui Academy aims to bring education and employment to 150 young people from deprived communities


are far removed from most holidaymakers’ idea of a sun-and- sand escape. But they also make the Dominican Republic, one of Britons’ favourite destinations, a good place to see whether tourism really can transform lives.


w TIME FOR CHANGE There are various organisations and NGOs attempting to address the complicated problems here. One initiative is the Tui Academy, a partnership that began last


9 August 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 41


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