Covid-19 affects travel to the Dominican Republic
Flights to Dominican Republic from Germany to increase in winter
Ministry of Tourism backs fruit farms for visitors
Promoting weddings in Santo Domingo’s romantic Colonial City
Covid-19 affects travel to the Dominican Republic
There have been flight and maritime ship cancellations, and to a lesser extent convention and vacation hotel stays, as the spread of the Covid-19 virus has its effect on the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic. The industry was just recovering this 2020 after being a victim of fake news in 2019. The region most affected is the La Romana-Bayahibe region where the first case of imported Covid-19 was detected of a 62-year old Italian tourist who had arrived on 22 February. Another case is that of a 70-year old woman who arrived from Quebec, Canada. The Viva Wyndham resort was sanitized and has remained open, with no other cases reported as of 9 March 2020. Occupancy is low in the region after direct flights from Milan, Italy into the La Romana International Airport were canceled.
Regardless, with the exception of people buying out supermarket stocks of sanitizing products, life in the Dominican Republic is almost normal as the population follows the evolution of Covid-19 virus closely. The nation's high air connectivity, a major plus for the tourism industry, is now working against the country. Several cases of tourists and Dominicans traveling abroad have imported the virus from Italy, Spain and Canada.
Expectations are that as soon as the present cold front moves on the temperatures warm up to the 25+C the conditions will be less favorable for the virus to spread in the country.
The Ministry of Public Health reports that all six cases of coronavirus in the country have been from persons who have traveled recently abroad and have imported the disease. The Dominican Republic receives around 6 million tourists a year. To date, there have been no reports of tourists being infected locally.
For more detailed reports on the evolution of the virus, see DR1 Daily News reports.
https://www.who.int/docs/default-so...0309-sitrep-49-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=70dabe61_4
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s...-you-need-to-know-before-traveling-2020-03-06
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s...?itm_source=parsely-api&mod=mw_more_headlines
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-coronavirus-go-away-with-warm-weather/
Flights to the Dominican Republic from Germany to increase in winter
The Ministry of Tourism reports that TUIfly has plans to increase its air routes to the Dominican Republic for next winter. New direct flights are being added from Düsseldorf, Germany to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, with four frequencies a week onboard the Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) with capacity for 300 seats. The flights are scheduled to begin on 4 November 2020. The company will fly from Düsseldorf three times a week to Punta Cana on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and on Wednesday it will fly to Puerto Plata.
Condor offers 10 flights from Frankfurt and Munich (1.5 of which are charters with the DER Touristik group).
And Lufthansa announced it will fly from Dusseldorf to Punta Cana, three times a week in winter (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). The Dusseldorf flight is expected to be a preferred connection for Germans living in the affluent North Rhine-Westphalia region.
The company announces that Punta Cana is one of the airline's most important long-haul destinations in the winter 2020-21, with six weekly flights from Frankfurt (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and two weekly flights from Munich (Wednesday, Saturday).
Also, DER Touristik in collaboration with Condor will launch a flight from Frankfurt to Puerto Plata on Sundays and a combined flight to Puerto Plata with Santo Domingo on Wednesdays.
For next winter, the number of direct flights from Germany to the Dominican Republic will increase to 17.
These plans would have been announced during the ITB travel show that for the first time in its history was canceled in Berlin, Germany. There are expectations the effects of Covid-19 virus on global travel will be over in time for summer travel.
http://mitur.gob.do/incrementan-vuelos-a-republica-dominicana-en-invierno-desde-alemania/
Ministry of Tourism backs fruit farms for visitors
In the far eastern community of Miches, the Ministry of Tourism is backing the implementation of a novel program of small fruit farms that will welcome visitors interested in learning about the food being served at their all-inclusive resort buffets. The program is supervised by Deputy Tourism Minister Luis Simo, who heads the International Affairs Department at the Ministry.
Simo explains that the small farms feature production of popular tropical fruits such as bananas, oranges, passion fruit, and limes. He said the farms have also planted several varieties used in the homeopathic practices of local medical cures for common ailments, in coordination with the National Botanical Gardens. Visits to rice farms is also a possibility. There the tourists can observe the production of artisan rice, the known “arroz de pilón” that results from taking rice straight from the paddy into a large wooden pestle and pounding it with a meter long mortar to remove the husks.
Moreover, the program is also carried out in coordination with experts from the Ministry of Agriculture.
http://mitur.gob.do/mitur-inicia-pr...ta-del-arroz-en-comunidad-de-el-cedro-miches/
https://elnacional.com.do/turismo-inicia-proyecto-fincas-frutales-miches/
Promoting weddings in Santo Domingo’s romantic Colonial City
Santo Domingo is now being promoted as a wedding destination. New facilities and the upgrade of the Colonial City make the historic center of the capital city a desirable location. The city now features luxury accommodations and large hotels in the city.
The Dominican Republic is recognized as one of the most sought-after countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for weddings, and is among the top 50 wedding destinations in the world, according to TheKnot.com, a portal specializing in this type of event.
On average, some 10,000 tourist weddings are celebrated each year, of which more than 1,000 are luxury weddings.
http://mitur.gob.do/anuncia-evento-promocionara-ciudad-colonial-destino-de-bodas/
Flights to Dominican Republic from Germany to increase in winter
Ministry of Tourism backs fruit farms for visitors
Promoting weddings in Santo Domingo’s romantic Colonial City
Covid-19 affects travel to the Dominican Republic
There have been flight and maritime ship cancellations, and to a lesser extent convention and vacation hotel stays, as the spread of the Covid-19 virus has its effect on the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic. The industry was just recovering this 2020 after being a victim of fake news in 2019. The region most affected is the La Romana-Bayahibe region where the first case of imported Covid-19 was detected of a 62-year old Italian tourist who had arrived on 22 February. Another case is that of a 70-year old woman who arrived from Quebec, Canada. The Viva Wyndham resort was sanitized and has remained open, with no other cases reported as of 9 March 2020. Occupancy is low in the region after direct flights from Milan, Italy into the La Romana International Airport were canceled.
Regardless, with the exception of people buying out supermarket stocks of sanitizing products, life in the Dominican Republic is almost normal as the population follows the evolution of Covid-19 virus closely. The nation's high air connectivity, a major plus for the tourism industry, is now working against the country. Several cases of tourists and Dominicans traveling abroad have imported the virus from Italy, Spain and Canada.
Expectations are that as soon as the present cold front moves on the temperatures warm up to the 25+C the conditions will be less favorable for the virus to spread in the country.
The Ministry of Public Health reports that all six cases of coronavirus in the country have been from persons who have traveled recently abroad and have imported the disease. The Dominican Republic receives around 6 million tourists a year. To date, there have been no reports of tourists being infected locally.
For more detailed reports on the evolution of the virus, see DR1 Daily News reports.
https://www.who.int/docs/default-so...0309-sitrep-49-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=70dabe61_4
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s...-you-need-to-know-before-traveling-2020-03-06
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s...?itm_source=parsely-api&mod=mw_more_headlines
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-coronavirus-go-away-with-warm-weather/
Flights to the Dominican Republic from Germany to increase in winter
The Ministry of Tourism reports that TUIfly has plans to increase its air routes to the Dominican Republic for next winter. New direct flights are being added from Düsseldorf, Germany to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, with four frequencies a week onboard the Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) with capacity for 300 seats. The flights are scheduled to begin on 4 November 2020. The company will fly from Düsseldorf three times a week to Punta Cana on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and on Wednesday it will fly to Puerto Plata.
Condor offers 10 flights from Frankfurt and Munich (1.5 of which are charters with the DER Touristik group).
And Lufthansa announced it will fly from Dusseldorf to Punta Cana, three times a week in winter (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). The Dusseldorf flight is expected to be a preferred connection for Germans living in the affluent North Rhine-Westphalia region.
The company announces that Punta Cana is one of the airline's most important long-haul destinations in the winter 2020-21, with six weekly flights from Frankfurt (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and two weekly flights from Munich (Wednesday, Saturday).
Also, DER Touristik in collaboration with Condor will launch a flight from Frankfurt to Puerto Plata on Sundays and a combined flight to Puerto Plata with Santo Domingo on Wednesdays.
For next winter, the number of direct flights from Germany to the Dominican Republic will increase to 17.
These plans would have been announced during the ITB travel show that for the first time in its history was canceled in Berlin, Germany. There are expectations the effects of Covid-19 virus on global travel will be over in time for summer travel.
http://mitur.gob.do/incrementan-vuelos-a-republica-dominicana-en-invierno-desde-alemania/
Ministry of Tourism backs fruit farms for visitors
In the far eastern community of Miches, the Ministry of Tourism is backing the implementation of a novel program of small fruit farms that will welcome visitors interested in learning about the food being served at their all-inclusive resort buffets. The program is supervised by Deputy Tourism Minister Luis Simo, who heads the International Affairs Department at the Ministry.
Simo explains that the small farms feature production of popular tropical fruits such as bananas, oranges, passion fruit, and limes. He said the farms have also planted several varieties used in the homeopathic practices of local medical cures for common ailments, in coordination with the National Botanical Gardens. Visits to rice farms is also a possibility. There the tourists can observe the production of artisan rice, the known “arroz de pilón” that results from taking rice straight from the paddy into a large wooden pestle and pounding it with a meter long mortar to remove the husks.
Moreover, the program is also carried out in coordination with experts from the Ministry of Agriculture.
http://mitur.gob.do/mitur-inicia-pr...ta-del-arroz-en-comunidad-de-el-cedro-miches/
https://elnacional.com.do/turismo-inicia-proyecto-fincas-frutales-miches/
Promoting weddings in Santo Domingo’s romantic Colonial City
Santo Domingo is now being promoted as a wedding destination. New facilities and the upgrade of the Colonial City make the historic center of the capital city a desirable location. The city now features luxury accommodations and large hotels in the city.
The Dominican Republic is recognized as one of the most sought-after countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for weddings, and is among the top 50 wedding destinations in the world, according to TheKnot.com, a portal specializing in this type of event.
On average, some 10,000 tourist weddings are celebrated each year, of which more than 1,000 are luxury weddings.
http://mitur.gob.do/anuncia-evento-promocionara-ciudad-colonial-destino-de-bodas/