The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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Frank Rainieri and his family—his wife, Haydée Kuret de Rainieri, in particular—decided to get a head

start on their dream without government support. At first, the small hotel only had its 10 haphazardly built

cabins, and both staff and management alike were expected to work in equal measure. Everyone worked

directly with the guests, served and cleaned tables, performed room service and more. All that mattered was

continuity of service. Slowly, but surely, they began cultivating an enthusiastic clientele.

The 1980s brought many challenges to Punta Cana. Four construction projects in particular were especially

demanding: the construction of Club Med, an airport, an aqueduct, and a highway. Club Med would be built

on the location of Punta Cana Club’s 10 cabins. An agreement was eventually reached, though the logistics of

the project presented a significant challenge. The aqueduct was built through sheer force of will, though the

highway and airport required coordination from various government agencies, due to the number of permits

required for the latter’s construction and subsequent operation. After a series of protracted negotiations with

the Balaguer administration, the completion of the highway project fell to the following administrations.

All that remained was the airport. The public was skeptical that it would ever be finished. An airport in

such a remote and inhospitable location, an airport the government seemingly had no interest in, and an air-

port not even situated in any of the country’s designated tourist zones? The mere thought of it seemed like

madness, and the project itself took more than seven years to complete.

Rainieri was convinced that the airport was necessary in order to streamline the influx of tourists to the

East by eliminating the long trip from Las Américas airport in Santo Domingo. The project required money,

however, and he turned to Ted Kheel for assistance. Kheel was wary of investing further without seeing any

results, but Rainieri’s persistence swayed him. With Kheel’s involvement and the funds received from the Club

Med construction deal, all that was missing was a designer. Oscar Imbert was the young architect tasked with

providing an affordable and practical design for the project. With things set in motion, the airport’s first sec-

tion was completed in 1985, and it received a single weekly flight with 19 visitors at the start. In the process of

further negotiations, the airport project received backing from the Vicini family, Manuel José Cabral, Gustavo

Tavárez, and Bernardo Vega, among others.

The hotel was finished, though there was only enough money to cover the construction costs. In order to

stock the hotel’s restaurant and get the new facilities up and running, Frank and Haydée had to use their per-

sonal dinnerware, and they sold their vehicle in order to raise funds. They finally achieved their utopia, though

not without sacrifices.

With Joaquín Balaguer’s return to power in 1986, the tourism industry received a second wind, and the

long-awaited dream of integrating the East into the government’s economic plans was realized. In the late

1980s, the office of the Secretary of Tourism established three distinct touristic regions in the country:

1. Costa Caribe (Boca Chica to La Romana)

2. Costa de Ámbar (Puerto Plata), which hosted an international airport and 1,200 total guest rooms.

3. Macao-Punta Cana, which by 1986 hosted an international airport and 800 guest rooms.

The East was finally on the agenda, but there was still much work to be done in terms of roadwork, power

lines, and aqueducts. This was eventually achieved through ceaseless lobbying. Starting in the 1990s, the Pun-

tacana Group began to grow into its own and eventually drew international attention. What follows are some

of the highlights of this process.

After 25 years of unending work and with no guarantee of success, everything paid off in the end. In time,

Punta Cana became a driver of the East’s development. As the group grew, the small airport that only received

one flight per week now receives over 60% of the country’s inbound flights, and the eastern region is now

the most important tourist zone of the three. The numbers speak for themselves. Doubtless, the partnerships

made with Oscar de la Renta and Julio Iglesias gave the project the international visibility it needed.

Aerial view

of the Corales Area

in Punta Cana.