DR1 Travel News - 19 March 2019

Dolores1

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Groundbreaking for Hampton by Hilton Punta Cana
Michael Jordan vacations in Dominican Republic
Prinair makes a comeback
New record of cruise ship passengers set for January to February 2019
Tourist numbers continue to increase



Groundbreaking for Hampton by Hilton Punta Cana
President Danilo Medina gave the symbolic groundbreaking shovel for the Hampton by Hilton Punta Cana Airport and Commercial Center on Thursday, 14 March 2019.

Nigel La Chapelle of Bio Investment Group said that the hotel is a RD$750 million investment and will have 150 rooms on three floors and a semi-basement on an area of 7,200 square meters. Adjacent will be a commercial center with 2,000 square meters for restaurants, offices, a sky bar with pool and airport view.
The hotel will be the first Hilton Worldwide in Punta Cana. It will offer free transfers to the Punta Cana International Airport. It will be located on the Boulevard Turístico del Este near the Punta Cana International Airport.


Michael Jordan vacations in Dominican Republic
Basketball legend Michael Jordan landed in the Samaná international airport on Sunday, 17 March 2019 for a vacation on the north coast. There is speculation he was booked for a stay at the Amanera Playa Grande, the most expensive resort in the country that is located in the Playa Grande, in the Cabrera, Rio San Juan beach area of María Trinidad Sánchez.

As reported, Jordan arrived flew into the El Catey International Airport of Samaná, an approximately one hour and 15 minutes drive to the Amanera resort that is around 75 km west of the airport.

A video circulating on social media showed Jordan arriving on the jet with his child. Reportedly, he flew in on his Gulfstream G550 that is decorated in the Jordan brand style. Jordan is regarded as the highest-paid athlete of all times. His main source of revenues today his is lucrative endorsement deal with Nike, that reportedly garners him approximately US$100 million a year.

https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/03...rdan-llaga-al-pais-con-su-familia-por-samana/
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...cuentra-en-la-republica-dominicana-OD12338152


Prinair makes a comeback
Puerto Rican-based airline, Prinair announces the start of flights between Aguadilla’s Rafael Hernández International Airport (BQN) and Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ). The airline has a fleet of three airplanes with capacity for up to 18 passengers. The airline says it has invested US$2.5 million to open the route. The flights will be twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.

Prinair vice president Juan I. Hernandez says they seek to attract tourists with a combination of quality and price on the flights that began on 18 March 2019. The company is advertising an introductory fare of US$329 round trip or less, including baggage weighing up to 40lbs per passenger through 20 May 2019. One-way fares are US$159 from Aguadilla to Punta Cana and US$179 the return.

The flight departs on Monday and Friday at 10am, arriving to Punta Cana a half an hour later. The return flight departs at 11:15am from PUJ arriving to Aguadilla at 11:45am. The Rafael Hernandez Airport is the second in volume in Puerto Rico. Located on the western side of the island.

The flight schedule makes it possible for business people to arrive in the morning and return in the afternoon of the same day. He said passengers will be able to connect to other Prinair flight destinations in the Caribbean.

Prinair is marketing packages to the mountain destination of Jarabacoa.

Prinair was a leader of the Puerto Rico to Santo Domingo air route from 1966 to 1984 but went bankrupt after American Eagle, an American Airlines, dominated the route.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...inair-entre-aguadilla-y-punta-cana-ID12339098


Record of cruise ship passengers set for January to February 2019
Ministry of Tourism statistics indicate that from January to February 2019, almost 400,000 cruise ship passengers and crew have arrived to the Dominican Republic.

The 399,169 exact number is a new record for maritime arrivals. This is the sum of 173,928 cruise ship passengers and 60,180 crew on board 76 cruise ships in January, for 234,108 visitors, a 13.85%.

February arrivals were 165,061 visitors, for an inter annual growth of 8.5%.
The total for the first two months is 38,790 more visitors than for the same period in 2018. Arrivals in January and February 2018 were 360,379 tourists and crew.

The main cruise ship ports are Puerto Plata, La Romana and Santo Domingo.

The Ministry of Tourism reports that in February, the luxury cruise line Le Ponant docked a ship outside of Bahia de las Aguilas, Pedernales.

http://mitur.gob.do/llegan-a-rd-cerca-de-400-mil-cruceristas-en-primeros-dos-meses-de-2019/
http://mitur.gob.do/barco-de-lujo-le-ponant-llega-por-vez-primera-a-bahia-de-las-aguilas/


Tourist numbers continue to increase
According to the Central Bank, the number of tourists arriving in the country last month showed an 8% increase over February last year. There were 604,977 passengers arriving by air, both foreign and non-resident Dominicans or 44,998 more than during the same period last year.

Looking at January and February 2019, there have been 1,203,175 non-resident arrivals, or 6.8% more visitors than during the first two months of last year.

According to the data, 64.9% of the arrivals in February came from North America, 21.8% from Europe and 2.6% from South America. This was followed by 2.6% from Central America and 0.3% from Asia and the rest of the world.

The majority of the arrivals, some 66% flew to Punta Cana airport and 14.5% to Santo Domingo. This was followed by 10% that landed in Puerto Plata and the remaining 9.6% arrived at La Romana, Cibao, La Isabela and El Catey airports.

See: https://www.bancentral.gov.do/ and then Publicaciones Recientes
 

juanmac

New member
Mar 21, 2019
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Thanks for the stats. Good to know tourism number are up. Are these numbers broken down by region? I'd like to know if tourism has increased in Puerto Plata/Sosua/Cabarete.