Bahamasair taps into Santo Domingo market
Flights to begin next month pending approval
By TAMARA McKENZIE,Guardian Staff Reporter
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic ? Passengers gave mixed views about the the national flag carrier's intention to tap into the Dominican market during a "familiarization" three day stop over into Santo Domingo on Friday before it begins its official route in November.
While many claimed that the island would not attract Bahamians that preferred to shop, some said the island presented various business opportunities for Bahamian entrepreneurs wanting to explore new possibilities of investment, while others said that viewing certain touristic and impoverished areas of the island would give Bahamians the opportunity to better appreciate their own culture and environment.
Over the past two weeks, Bahamasair jammed radio airwaves and ran daily newspaper ads to heavily promote and lure passengers to take advantage of its $199 [excluding taxes] three day trip to the island.
On Friday, Bahamasair's jumbo 120 seater jet was ready to take 95 passengers on its first "familiarization' trip to the to the Spanish isle. On board were Bahamasair officials, travel agents, businesspersons, first time visitors and even native Dominicans.
Scheduled to depart Nassau International Airport at 2 p.m., the Bahamasair flight was not prepped for takeoff until 3 p.m., however, the "bump less" voyage into Santo Domingo seemingly compensated for the one hour delay.
Captained by Mr Michael Weech with assistance from five crew members, some 15 minutes after take off, two handsome male stewards ensured that passengers were comfortable, offering a small snack of cheese sandwiches, red seedless grapes, and just enough caffeine from a Coca-Cola or Pepsi to keep passengers revived until 4:30 p.m., when the airline made its initial descent at the Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo.
Disembarking, anxious passengers were ready to take advantage of the stops outlined on Bahamasair's lengthy itinerary, which included various tours of the Island, coupled with visits to manufacturing companies for those that sought potential business opportunities. However, the views given after day two of the trip on Saturday were somewhat mixed.
Bahamian Zella Redhead who took the trip with her husband, said so far, the trip was "wonderful" and she had plans to return. " I will come back and I love it. I like the hotel, the culture and the history of the city. I like the old buildings and this was where Christopher Columbus was buried, so there is a lot of history here," she said.
Mrs Redhead, who compared Santo Domingo to Cuba, said excluding the littered streets, she would opt to vacation in the Dominican Republic any day over Cuba, as the laid back island possessed more charm. "I think this [Dominican Republic] would be feasible route for Bahamasair to take," she said.
Donna Robinson described her trip as "quite interesting". She said she liked the warm climate of Santo Domingo and residents of the island were very accommodating . "I would recommend Santo Domingo to the business people and it is something else to see and it is another part of the world to visit," she said.
Bahamasair employee, Albertha Lynes said Santo Domingo presented a lot of "good buys" for persons interested in the fabric and building industry and she would recommend the area for those who sought business opportunities, or to those who wanted to relax. "I would recommend Santo Domingo for a vacation, but not for shopping," she said. She added however, that much greater buys on clothing items could be found in Santiago, a shopping distract just two hours outside of Santo Domingo.
Harold Johnson, an agent at Premier Travel Agency expressed that the trip would allow Bahamians to compare and contrast the different cultures of the Caribbean. "Bahamians don't really get to learn about other Caribbean cultures, but visiting here would present a whole new different ball game for them," he said.
Mr Juan Deveaux, also a travel agent, said it was his opinion that the Bahamasair/Santo Domingo route would be a good opportunity for students studying Spanish who may want to immerse themselves in the Dominican culture and better learn the language.
On the flip side, other first time visitors expressed displeasure with Bahamasair's organisation of the Santo Domingo trip, while others complained that the level of poverty in some areas would be a "turn off" to prospective Bahamian visitors.
Passenger Sharon Major claimed that the communication on the part of Bahamasair once individuals arrived in Santo Domingo was "poor". She explained that scheduled times for tours on Saturday morning were delayed, but Bahamasair did not have the "courtesy" to brief all individuals about the change. "They could have at least shown some concern to the passengers or customers and inform us on what was happening, but other than that, I would say the trip is OK."
"The whole experience allowed me to see how blessed we are in The Bahamas, especially when I look at how some of the people here live. If I have a chance to, I would come back," Mrs Major said.
A companion of Major who asked not be identified, said the Bahamasair trip to Santo Domingo was "smooth" but once getting to the island, plans were not well executed and Bahamasair did not do enough to ensure that plans ran "smoothly". He said because the trip was a "familiarization" visit, it was up to Bahamasair to transport locals to the island and ensure that they learn about the island so as to "spread the news" to friends and relatives once they returned home.
"We paid for the trip and tours, but once we went on the tour, it was ad hoc when it came to where we stopped and where we did not stop. I thought that it would have been more of an informative experience for us," he said.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a first time Bahamian visitor to Santo Domingo, referred to the island as a "nice place" with great buys, but expressed that the island was very dirty. "I don't think Bahamians would like it. For Bahamasair, it [Santo Domingo] might be a profitable route for business people, but not for visitors or for leisure," she said, adding that she was not impressed with many of the scenes visited on the island. On the flip said, the Bahamasair passenger said the people of Santo Domingo were "friendly" and she found a few good buys.
"It is not a place to come to shop, it would be more geared to people who work in the straw market and want to buy products for their businesses," she said.
Another visitor who also asked to remain anonymous said she was not "impressed" with anything in Santo Domingo. "Not even the market place. It was so dirty and the houses were very dilapidated. This is only a place to come to for business or to gamble," she said, adding that Bahamasair would have to heavily promote the clean, safe and tourist areas of the island in an effort to keep the route profitable.
Meanwhile, the commercial General Deputy Manager of Bahamasair, Van Diah, admitted that Santo Domingo mainly caters to large and small business persons, but Bahamasair was also exploring the possibility of flying into other airports in the Dominican Republic.
"The Dominican Republic has four airports. While this is the one [Santo Domingo] where we chose to start, we have asked for approval for all four airports," he said, adding that the airline is also considering visits to Santiago or Puerto Plata.
"Bahamasair will move with the demand of the passengers, if this is not the right place for them to take a vacation, there is no harm and no extra work for the Bahamasair to split the shift of the route from the industrial area to the recreational/vacation area," he said.
Bahamians taking the three day familiarization trip are scheduled to return to the capital today.
Flights to begin next month pending approval
By TAMARA McKENZIE,Guardian Staff Reporter
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic ? Passengers gave mixed views about the the national flag carrier's intention to tap into the Dominican market during a "familiarization" three day stop over into Santo Domingo on Friday before it begins its official route in November.
While many claimed that the island would not attract Bahamians that preferred to shop, some said the island presented various business opportunities for Bahamian entrepreneurs wanting to explore new possibilities of investment, while others said that viewing certain touristic and impoverished areas of the island would give Bahamians the opportunity to better appreciate their own culture and environment.
Over the past two weeks, Bahamasair jammed radio airwaves and ran daily newspaper ads to heavily promote and lure passengers to take advantage of its $199 [excluding taxes] three day trip to the island.
On Friday, Bahamasair's jumbo 120 seater jet was ready to take 95 passengers on its first "familiarization' trip to the to the Spanish isle. On board were Bahamasair officials, travel agents, businesspersons, first time visitors and even native Dominicans.
Scheduled to depart Nassau International Airport at 2 p.m., the Bahamasair flight was not prepped for takeoff until 3 p.m., however, the "bump less" voyage into Santo Domingo seemingly compensated for the one hour delay.
Captained by Mr Michael Weech with assistance from five crew members, some 15 minutes after take off, two handsome male stewards ensured that passengers were comfortable, offering a small snack of cheese sandwiches, red seedless grapes, and just enough caffeine from a Coca-Cola or Pepsi to keep passengers revived until 4:30 p.m., when the airline made its initial descent at the Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo.
Disembarking, anxious passengers were ready to take advantage of the stops outlined on Bahamasair's lengthy itinerary, which included various tours of the Island, coupled with visits to manufacturing companies for those that sought potential business opportunities. However, the views given after day two of the trip on Saturday were somewhat mixed.
Bahamian Zella Redhead who took the trip with her husband, said so far, the trip was "wonderful" and she had plans to return. " I will come back and I love it. I like the hotel, the culture and the history of the city. I like the old buildings and this was where Christopher Columbus was buried, so there is a lot of history here," she said.
Mrs Redhead, who compared Santo Domingo to Cuba, said excluding the littered streets, she would opt to vacation in the Dominican Republic any day over Cuba, as the laid back island possessed more charm. "I think this [Dominican Republic] would be feasible route for Bahamasair to take," she said.
Donna Robinson described her trip as "quite interesting". She said she liked the warm climate of Santo Domingo and residents of the island were very accommodating . "I would recommend Santo Domingo to the business people and it is something else to see and it is another part of the world to visit," she said.
Bahamasair employee, Albertha Lynes said Santo Domingo presented a lot of "good buys" for persons interested in the fabric and building industry and she would recommend the area for those who sought business opportunities, or to those who wanted to relax. "I would recommend Santo Domingo for a vacation, but not for shopping," she said. She added however, that much greater buys on clothing items could be found in Santiago, a shopping distract just two hours outside of Santo Domingo.
Harold Johnson, an agent at Premier Travel Agency expressed that the trip would allow Bahamians to compare and contrast the different cultures of the Caribbean. "Bahamians don't really get to learn about other Caribbean cultures, but visiting here would present a whole new different ball game for them," he said.
Mr Juan Deveaux, also a travel agent, said it was his opinion that the Bahamasair/Santo Domingo route would be a good opportunity for students studying Spanish who may want to immerse themselves in the Dominican culture and better learn the language.
On the flip side, other first time visitors expressed displeasure with Bahamasair's organisation of the Santo Domingo trip, while others complained that the level of poverty in some areas would be a "turn off" to prospective Bahamian visitors.
Passenger Sharon Major claimed that the communication on the part of Bahamasair once individuals arrived in Santo Domingo was "poor". She explained that scheduled times for tours on Saturday morning were delayed, but Bahamasair did not have the "courtesy" to brief all individuals about the change. "They could have at least shown some concern to the passengers or customers and inform us on what was happening, but other than that, I would say the trip is OK."
"The whole experience allowed me to see how blessed we are in The Bahamas, especially when I look at how some of the people here live. If I have a chance to, I would come back," Mrs Major said.
A companion of Major who asked not be identified, said the Bahamasair trip to Santo Domingo was "smooth" but once getting to the island, plans were not well executed and Bahamasair did not do enough to ensure that plans ran "smoothly". He said because the trip was a "familiarization" visit, it was up to Bahamasair to transport locals to the island and ensure that they learn about the island so as to "spread the news" to friends and relatives once they returned home.
"We paid for the trip and tours, but once we went on the tour, it was ad hoc when it came to where we stopped and where we did not stop. I thought that it would have been more of an informative experience for us," he said.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a first time Bahamian visitor to Santo Domingo, referred to the island as a "nice place" with great buys, but expressed that the island was very dirty. "I don't think Bahamians would like it. For Bahamasair, it [Santo Domingo] might be a profitable route for business people, but not for visitors or for leisure," she said, adding that she was not impressed with many of the scenes visited on the island. On the flip said, the Bahamasair passenger said the people of Santo Domingo were "friendly" and she found a few good buys.
"It is not a place to come to shop, it would be more geared to people who work in the straw market and want to buy products for their businesses," she said.
Another visitor who also asked to remain anonymous said she was not "impressed" with anything in Santo Domingo. "Not even the market place. It was so dirty and the houses were very dilapidated. This is only a place to come to for business or to gamble," she said, adding that Bahamasair would have to heavily promote the clean, safe and tourist areas of the island in an effort to keep the route profitable.
Meanwhile, the commercial General Deputy Manager of Bahamasair, Van Diah, admitted that Santo Domingo mainly caters to large and small business persons, but Bahamasair was also exploring the possibility of flying into other airports in the Dominican Republic.
"The Dominican Republic has four airports. While this is the one [Santo Domingo] where we chose to start, we have asked for approval for all four airports," he said, adding that the airline is also considering visits to Santiago or Puerto Plata.
"Bahamasair will move with the demand of the passengers, if this is not the right place for them to take a vacation, there is no harm and no extra work for the Bahamasair to split the shift of the route from the industrial area to the recreational/vacation area," he said.
Bahamians taking the three day familiarization trip are scheduled to return to the capital today.