Like so many expats, we immigrated as a young family to the Caribbean from England several years ago drawn by the island’s spectacular blue skies, lush vegetation, warm ocean tides, its friendly faces and because - the Dominican Republic allowed us to turn our backs on the escalating rules and regulations, the loss of more and more personal freedoms and the general feeling that things were not going to get better any time soon in our “homeland”.
So, when we discovered that Iguana Mama Adventure Tours, the Dominican Republic’s first licensed independent tour company was for sale we’re not sure if we bought it because it had a great reputation with a bright future or, if that key word “independent” charmed us. Autonomy! We would be free to make and re-make our own bed (so-to-speak) each day! And to be perfectly honest, the “we’re free” honeymoon lasted a good long while! We were learning the ropes, enjoying the ride and enthusiastically making small changes we believed would enhance our business while resisting the courtship of large Tour Operators and Tour Wholesalers promising volume, volume, volume through All Inclusive Resort contracts.
As tempting as their promises were, and there were many, they never included any minimum booking guarantees nor guarantees they could or would deliver the numbers they promised yet, to sign on with them they wanted us to slash our prices significantly below what we would consider wholesale!
If we signed with them, we would be paying exorbitant commissions for them to market our tours to what is ostensibly an already captive resort audience (and in high season, not much more sporting than shooting ducks in a pond).
As tempting as their promises were, and there were many, they never included any minimum booking guarantees nor guarantees they could or would deliver the numbers they promised yet, to sign on with them they wanted us to slash our prices significantly below what we would consider wholesale!
If we signed with them, we would be paying exorbitant commissions for them to market our tours to what is ostensibly an already captive resort audience (and in high season, not much more sporting than shooting ducks in a pond).
They were asking us to take all the risks and to give up our independence without much more than a promise. Of course, our primary concern was that the quality and reputation we’d worked so hard to build might diminish to cover our costs and their demands. To boot, they wanted exclusivity which meant we would have to turn away non-resort bookings. Volume vs Independence!?
After considering the pros and cons, our answer each time was a polite no thanks, we prefer to work independently and set about making a few more business enhancements. We boosted our on-line presence with a new website. Learned how to use more savvy internet marketing tools, tarted up our storefront, added a few more exciting adventure tours and hunkered in for the long term. Financially we weren’t flush but we were doing okay. Yes, some months were definitely a struggle but no more than any other tourism related business. We all know slow season is inevitable every year and we prepare for it during high season. We're proud independent survivors! And then… the announcement.
Carnival Cruise Lines were building a port in Puerto Plata! Giant floating cities would soon be arriving carrying thousands of people to the area every week including SLOW SEASON!
After considering the pros and cons, our answer each time was a polite no thanks, we prefer to work independently and set about making a few more business enhancements. We boosted our on-line presence with a new website. Learned how to use more savvy internet marketing tools, tarted up our storefront, added a few more exciting adventure tours and hunkered in for the long term. Financially we weren’t flush but we were doing okay. Yes, some months were definitely a struggle but no more than any other tourism related business. We all know slow season is inevitable every year and we prepare for it during high season. We're proud independent survivors! And then… the announcement.
Carnival Cruise Lines were building a port in Puerto Plata! Giant floating cities would soon be arriving carrying thousands of people to the area every week including SLOW SEASON!
Great leaping lizards!
How could we possibly afford to ignore this new development?
How could we possibly afford to ignore this new development?
The entire north coast tourism industry (including us) were collectively singing Hallelujah and we knew we had a winning product on our roster! We were excited! We’d worked really hard to earn a great reputation on TripAdvisor as one of the area’s leading adventure tour providers and our 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua excursion (one of our best selling tours) was perfect for their needs! We all waited with eager anticipation during port construction and then one day, Carnival came calling!
Talk about mixed emotions! This could be our ticket to Xanadu. Easy Street! We could stop worrying about slow season, we could travel more, stress less, pay those University tuitions without blinking an eye or,
Talk about mixed emotions! This could be our ticket to Xanadu. Easy Street! We could stop worrying about slow season, we could travel more, stress less, pay those University tuitions without blinking an eye or,
we could politely tell them no thanks, we prefer to work independently and that's what we did … we turned them down!
But don't worry! We still run our 27 Waterfalls tour several times a week and thankfully, our gut feeling to stay independent is paying off. We’re doing fine filling buses up just outside Amber Cove with cruise ship guests but, we’re doing it on our own terms. You see what we didn’t know when we declined membership to the "exclusive shore excursion club" was that seasoned cruisers already know they get a more reasonably priced, more authentic experience with an independent tour company ... and they find us!
But don't worry! We still run our 27 Waterfalls tour several times a week and thankfully, our gut feeling to stay independent is paying off. We’re doing fine filling buses up just outside Amber Cove with cruise ship guests but, we’re doing it on our own terms. You see what we didn’t know when we declined membership to the "exclusive shore excursion club" was that seasoned cruisers already know they get a more reasonably priced, more authentic experience with an independent tour company ... and they find us!
All that being said, CHEERS to you Carnival Cruise Lines! We truly appreciate the revitalization you brought to the area and we’re very grateful that as an independent adventure tour operator (with 1st class products to offer your guests) we can all benefit!