How La Romana grew to be a main tourist getaway.

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How La Romana grew to be a main tourist getaway.
With almost 200,000 inhabitants La Romana is one of the three premier cities in the Dominican Republic. It is situated on the southeast shore of the island of Hispaniola. The overall economy of the city is essentially powered by the sugar industry and by tourism. The Central Romana Corporation is a big sugar vendor that employs about 25,000 workers. Casa de Campo is one of the most impressive resorts in the Dominican Republic. Much of the historical past is developed around those two economical entities. The town is named after an old Roman scale utilized to measure the sugarcane.

The city of La Romana was born in 1897 when Congress awarded a grant to a Cuban company to establish an oil refinery. Originally it was a poor city, not offering a promising future for its people. In 1917 the future changed when a large mill was built to allow more sugarcane plantations around the city. The commissioning of the mill coincided with the rise in world sugar prices due to the First World War. This meant the need to increase the labor force, which was welcomed by many Dominicans who moved to the town in search of a better life. In early 1960 Gulf and Western Industries, an American company, bought the sugar mill. In the years that followed the company made large investments in other regions of the country, mainly in the livestock and cement industry. Furthermore Gulf and Western invested about $ 20 million to rebuilt schools, clinics and to create housing for their workers. In the 70's Gulf and Western Industries began to sell its interests elsewhere in the Dominican Republic and concentrated on the development of -what is today- Casa de Campo.

In a substantial region just east of the town has been given the status as National Park: the National Park del Este. The nature reserve contains the whole peninsula south of the line Bayahibe - Boca de Yuma and the offshore isles of Saona and Catalinita are included in the nature reserve. The nature reserve is yet another draw card to attract foreign tourists visiting the region. Nearby, the regional resort area of Bayahibe began as a fishing hamlet in 1874 and it is now known as a preferred place to go for sun lovers. Various up market resorts are located here. This tourist getaway is located merely 25 min's east of La Romana and you may discover the encompassing nature and digest the historical past of the authentic fishing town. .