Dominican Republic named "Top Destination of the Year, Caribbean"

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
Dominican Republic Named "Top Destination Of The Year, Caribbean" By Expedia.comTourist arrivals reach record numbers for fourth consecutive year

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Feb. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Award season is in full swing and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as the "Top Destination of the Year, Caribbean" by Expedia.com(r), the world's largest online travel agency. The prestigious award was presented by Gay Miller, Senior Business Development Director for Expedia.com's Business Solutions, and Demetrious Canton, Expedia.com's Market Director for the Caribbean, at the recent Caribbean Hotel Association Marketplace in Jamaica.

To decide upon the Caribbean collection, Expedia.com considered each Caribbean country's overall performance. Dominican Republic welcomed a record 4.6 million visitors in 2013 and received a 33 percent increase in demand, making it the top growing market in the Caribbean. Since last year Dominican Republic has been one of the top visited destinations in the Caribbean for the U.S. market as 1.5 million Americans traveled to the country in the past year, equaling 34 percent of the total tourist arrivals.

Magaly Toribio, Marketing Advisor for the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism, said, "We are extremely delighted with the ever-increasing growth of visitors who seek our breathtaking scenery and captivating culture. The efforts of the Ministry of Tourism exemplify our commitment to a strategic marketing plan and execution to further boost tourism arrivals."

In response to the substantial growth, the Ministry of Tourism, Dominican Government and the tourism sector have collaborated to capitalize on the country's tourism offerings. In 2013 the country witnessed an increase in room capacity, the addition of direct flights from major U.S. cities, strengthened safety and security measures, development of well-known hotel brands, production of new attractions, modernized highways, cruise port developments and more.

Punta Cana on the East Coast is once again the most popular destination for tourists in the country, as its international airport received 55 percent of arrivals. Las Americas International Airport in the capital city of Santo Domingo followed, receiving 24 percent. Travel demand for the Caribbean continues to grow in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Brazil, and 2014 is anticipated to increase even more.
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
Wait for the new ports of call to open. The new launch of SD as a touristic destination in the old city...

More flights added to more airports than any other destination in the region.

We're looking to break the 5 million record soon!
 

zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
8,367
842
113
Gotta admire old P., he never gives up. What? No pictures of happy tourists getting of the plane with pockets stuffed with cash to save the Dominican Republic?
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
Wait for the new ports of call to open. The new launch of SD as a touristic destination in the old city...

More flights added to more airports than any other destination in the region.

We're looking to break the 5 million record soon!

you need to take some economics classes before you make these pronouncements with such glee. i know that you are at least familiar with the concept of diminishing returns. after a certain point is reached, an enterprise begins to experience lesser returns to each additional unit of input. in tourism, cross country regressions have shown that after a country exceeds 36% tourism specialization, diminishing returns set in. tourism specialization can be measured either as revenue from tourism as a fraction of GDP, or visitors as a percentage of population. with a population of 10 million, and 5 million visitors, that threshold will have long been crossed, and each additional visitor contributes results in lesser returns than is realized at lower numbers.
 

Luperon

Who empowered China's crime against humanity?
Jun 28, 2004
4,510
294
83
Read the cruise reviews of Samana, tourists hated the Dominican people. Result, cruises are pulling out of Samana. Lets see what happens with the new cruise port in a couple years.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
Read the cruise reviews of Samana, tourists hated the Dominican people. Result, cruises are pulling out of Samana. Lets see what happens with the new cruise port in a couple years.

actually, i just read the stats. Samana : 18% return rate. Barbados :52%...just sayin..
 
Jan 9, 2004
10,912
2,247
113
Wait for the new ports of call to open. The new launch of SD as a touristic destination in the old city...

More flights added to more airports than any other destination in the region.

We're looking to break the 5 million record soon!

....And that is the single most important reason why the peso will not go to 25:1.....unless it does a reverse split at 50:1.

As long as the government ties a huge portion of its economy to tourism.....they cannot afford to strengthen the peso and risk losing market share to the other mass market destinations.

IMHO, before the CZ becomes a destination and not a tour, the DR needs to do whole lot more cleaning up.....and I do not mean just the buildings.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
....And that is the single most important reason why the peso will not go to 25:1.....unless it does a reverse split at 50:1.

As long as the government ties a huge portion of its economy to tourism.....they cannot afford to strengthen the peso and risk losing market share to the other mass market destinations.

IMHO, before the CZ becomes a destination and not a tour, the DR needs to do whole lot more cleaning up.....and I do not mean just the buildings.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

PICHARDO economics 101; peso at 25: = more tourists.
 

jkc

New member
Jun 24, 2013
472
0
0
Sweet! Top destination, all right!
Keep it tight! lol
You gotta admire the poster! he is a warrior! lol
 

JMB773

Silver
Nov 4, 2011
2,625
0
0
Dominican Republic Named "Top Destination Of The Year, Caribbean" By Expedia.comTourist arrivals reach record numbers for fourth consecutive year

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Feb. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Award season is in full swing and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as the "Top Destination of the Year, Caribbean" by Expedia.com(r), the world's largest online travel agency. The prestigious award was presented by Gay Miller, Senior Business Development Director for Expedia.com's Business Solutions, and Demetrious Canton, Expedia.com's Market Director for the Caribbean, at the recent Caribbean Hotel Association Marketplace in Jamaica.

To decide upon the Caribbean collection, Expedia.com considered each Caribbean country's overall performance. Dominican Republic welcomed a record 4.6 million visitors in 2013 and received a 33 percent increase in demand, making it the top growing market in the Caribbean. Since last year Dominican Republic has been one of the top visited destinations in the Caribbean for the U.S. market as 1.5 million Americans traveled to the country in the past year, equaling 34 percent of the total tourist arrivals.

Magaly Toribio, Marketing Advisor for the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism, said, "We are extremely delighted with the ever-increasing growth of visitors who seek our breathtaking scenery and captivating culture. The efforts of the Ministry of Tourism exemplify our commitment to a strategic marketing plan and execution to further boost tourism arrivals."

In response to the substantial growth, the Ministry of Tourism, Dominican Government and the tourism sector have collaborated to capitalize on the country's tourism offerings. In 2013 the country witnessed an increase in room capacity, the addition of direct flights from major U.S. cities, strengthened safety and security measures, development of well-known hotel brands, production of new attractions, modernized highways, cruise port developments and more.

Punta Cana on the East Coast is once again the most popular destination for tourists in the country, as its international airport received 55 percent of arrivals. Las Americas International Airport in the capital city of Santo Domingo followed, receiving 24 percent. Travel demand for the Caribbean continues to grow in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Brazil, and 2014 is anticipated to increase even more.

Great post, but the count is not quite right. It is not 4.6 million it is 4,599,997 because I traveled 3 times last year to DR.
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
191
0
38
yahoomail.com
They count returning Dominicans as "Touristas"!
Remove them from the equation and see what's left????
Every time I tell people in the USA that I live in the Dominican Republic, their first question is ALWAYS,..."Is It SAFE"????
"Safe For WHAT"????????
I ask THEM!!!!

How much "Bad Chicken & Pasta" does an "All Delusive" resort have to serve, EVERY NIGHT!!!, until the word gets out?????

ps., it's GREAT to see that nearly everyone on DR1 now has "Senor P's" number!!!!!!!!

My work here is now, ALMOST, complete.
If he lived here I would visit him, but I don't like going Orlando Florida!!!
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
As long as Cuba is off limits to Americans the DR will continue to attract the multitude of tourists. There is a lot to offer in this country, including historical sites, beautiful beaches, eco tourism with diverse ecology. It is still the best value in the Caribbean and the current exchange rate certainly helps those who choose to travel here.

LTSTeve
 

dalethefarmer

Member
Jan 27, 2014
92
20
18
Great post, I saw a similar thing in the new the other days, "favorite winter destination" or something. And What a bunch of haters on this forum, damn. I hear Cuba is more accepting of foreigners, maybe most of yous can move there and STFU.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,143
6,309
113
South Coast
If Expedia is giving this award, isn't it fair to say it's probably based on the # of sales they have to DR? And isn't it also fair to say that most Dominicans going to DR aren't booking hotels or AIs through Expedia? I said "most", because I'm sure there are exceptions.
 

Africaida

Gold
Jun 19, 2009
7,775
1,341
113
They count returning Dominicans as "Touristas"!
Remove them from the equation and see what's left????

You have a point, but in P. defense, everyone and their mother that I know both in the US and Europe have been to Punta Cana.