DR1 Travel News - 19 September 2017

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Preparing for Hurricane Maria
High hotel occupancy for 2017
Puerto Plata welcomes cruise ships after ports of call affected by hurricanes
Pineapple Ball Festival at Playa Caribe


Preparing for Hurricane Maria
The hotel industry in the Dominican Republic again has prepared to weather another major storm as Hurricane Maria makes its way west north west through the Caribbean. Forecasters say the country for the most part will be spared of hurricane effects, if the storm continues on its present course or swerves more to the north.

The good news is that forecasters are becoming every day more accurate. Nevertheless, preventive measures have begun given the uncertainty in the behavior of hurricanes. Those who live in the Caribbean know to be prepared for the worse.

Rainstorms and gusty winds and high surf are forecast, regardless, for Saona on the southeast, Punta Cana, Samana, Puerto Plata to Montecristi on the north as of the first hours of Thursday, 21 September 2017. Once the storm passes Puerto Rico on the previous Wednesday, a more accurate forecast will be known.

The DR1 weather forecaster, MikeFisher, is located in Punta Cana. To follow the storm as it relates to the Dominican Republic, see the last posts on the DR1 Forums Hurricane Thread at:
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/161573-hurricane-season-2017

Government bulletin reports are at:
http://www.coe.gob.do/


High hotel occupancy for 2017
Economic analyst, Nassim José Alemany, of Deloitte in the Dominican Republic says hotels are enjoying the best overall occupancy rate in 15 years. Alemany reports that as of July 2017, average occupancy for the past 12 months was 80%. He explains hotel occupancy in general has shown sustained growth since 2010.

By tourism destinations within the country, Punta Cana is the leader in occupancy with 85%, followed by La Romana and Bayahibe with 84%. The east of the country benefited from the global economic recovery after the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

He reports that destinations in Puerto Plata and Sosúa, that posted record occupancy lows in 2010, have not yet recovered fully, but have showed important increases in the past three years.

Occupancy in Samaná, that had shown important hotel occupancy growth from 2010 to 2015, has declined from a peak at almost 80% to 68%.

In the analysis, Alemany points out that many young people that are visiting slip through the official occupancy statistics as these stay in alternate lodging, using online booking platforms such as AirBnB, Tripping, FlipKey, VRBO among others. He said around 25,000 properties in the Dominican Republic are listed on these booking platforms, with occupancy rates ranging from 30 to 40%. He says foreigners and Dominicans for domestic travel are increasingly using these platforms.

https://www2.deloitte.com/do/es/pages/finance/topics/grafico-semana/ocupacion-turistica.html


Puerto Plata welcomes cruise ships after ports of call affected by hurricanes
Cruise ship travelers can expect Caribbean cruise itinerary changes especially during the Atlantic Hurricane Season, and primarily in September, the peak big storm month in the region. Earlier this month, Hurricane Irma caused ships headed for Amber Cove in Puerto Plata to be diverted. But others are being booked in addition.

Hurricane Maria’s course looks good for the north coast so far, but close monitoring is needed as the storm passes the island.

The Miami-based line on Friday, 15 September 2017, had said Carnival Glory, Carnival Magic and Carnival Conquest had decided to reroute passengers to Amber Cove, Puerto Plata, who were originally booked to Grand Turk.

Carnival Glory is based out of Miami. Carnival Magic is based out of Port Canaveral, Fla., while Carnival Conquest makes its home at Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades.

Carnival has announced changes in the cruise ship itineraries due to the effects of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria that have affected the ports in Grand Turk, San Juan (Puerto Rico), St. Kitts, St. Maarten, among others.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/trav...sland-not-quite-ready-cruise-ships/670678001/
https://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=8319


Pineapple Ball Festival at Playa Caribe
ShaveUrLegz is presenting their fifth consecutive Pineapple Ball Festival on Saturday, 30 September 2017 starting at 4pm at Playa Caribe, a half an hour drive east from Santo Domingo on the south coast. The festival is comprised of two stages. The Pineapple Bay attracts acts that lean towards rock, pop, and fusion sounds, with Mexican brother/sister duo Sotomayor performing. Baltimore rapper Spank Rock, local folk-rocker Riccie Oriach, and Venezuelan reggae-lite quartet Rawayana, will perform with José Corredor. At the El Bohío stage Mula, Chancha Via Circuito, Sabo, and Hoj are set to perform. Tierra Fértil and Gran Poder de Diosa are also part of the lineup.

This year, a surf competition, “Pineapple Surf Contest Party by Marullos”, sponsored by Billabong, is part of the festival. The surf contest starts as of 3pm.

Tickets are for sale at: Uepa Tickets, CCN, Jumbo and Supermercados Nacional.