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By Vanessa Garcia Polanco. “If someone wants to know what my homeland is, Do not ask for it. Do not want to know if there are woods, trills, Many peninsulas and others, Or if there are four mountain ranges, All right, Or if there are several bays destinations And all belong to foreigners. -Pedro Mir, If Someone Wants To Know What My Country Is This poem was present in my mind when I was vacationing with my family in the shores of Sosua, in the north of the Dominican Republic. This was my first time as a tourist in the Dominican Republic, 5 years after migrating to the United States. I am no longer just Dominican, I am a Dominican Immigrant, residensing abroad in the United States and an American citizen. And as such, I now feel a different responsibility for how I use the natural resources of my birth country and how I decided to invest my foreign currencies in the economy of the Dominican Republic. Yes, for many years the Dominican government has promoted tourism as a mechanism for the economic and social development of the Dominican Republic and the communities where it takes place. I have many questions after many environmental management classes and sustainable development research : Is this sustainable? Is this development economically inclusive and working to eliminate poverty or dismantle economic inequality? Or just to allow foreign companies to exploit the country's resources? Do government officials look the other way because “it is good for the economy”? There were many questions I wanted to ask in every hotel, tourist site, beach, river and archaeological site I visited to know if my tourism was responsible and sustainable, but I was not always able to have all the answers I needed to have a clean conscience. The United Nations General Assembly, at its seventieth session, declared 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. This year, I had the opportunity to be an international tourist twice, once in Mexico, and in my country of origin, Dominican Republic. In Mexico, I was sure that my actions as a tourist were contributing in a responsible way to the economic development and protection of the natural resources of Oaxaca. I was able to do so, because someone took deliberate attention to craft a cultural experience that matched my environmental values and social justice beliefs. In my own homeland, I don't need a cultural immersion, I need to responsibly explore and protect my cultural and natural heritage, but how? When everything I could explore was branded to others as a paradise or enchanted land for cheap dollars? Environmental practitioners like myself often struggle around questions of how we can be better domestic and international tourists. So, I have done what I can do best: research my options. With food, environment, and tourism researchers we crafted a list of environmentally minded hotels, restaurants and other experiences in the Dominican Republic. Now the tasks a hand is to promote these options and empower Dominicans abroad like myself and tourists from around the world visiting the Dominican Republic and any other country to think about their environmental and social impact when booking their next vacation. Consider this in your next vacation to the Dominican Republic: Casa Bonita Tropical Lodge, Barahona, Dominican Republic Why stay here? Their restaurant uses local and regional organic produce grown in the property or in the nearby communities. Dominican Tree House Village, Samana Dominican Republic Why stay here? The use of natural materials for the tree houses and the coverage of the resort with robust native foliage.