Apple Vacations, one of the leading sellers of tour packages in the United States, is betting on Punta Cana as a leading sun and beach destination for the new millennium. The tour operator sent two million Americans to Cancún, Mexico last year and is now enthusiastically selling Punta Cana hotels. For starters, the tour operator will send eight flights a week to Punta Cana starting December15 through February 1, and then 10 flights a week through April 15. Three flights a week are scheduled for the summer months. The tour operator, one of the largest in the US, sees Punta Cana as an alternative to Jamaica and Cancún, destinations to which their travelers have been going for years. Peter Thomas, of Premiere Tours (premiere@codetel.net.do), the local rep of Apple Vacations, says the company is full of enthusiasm for selling the destination. Thomas told the DR1 that Apple is forecasting Punta Cana could be the next Cancún for the American market. Other tour operators selling the DR this winter season include Friendly Holidays, GWV, Go Go, and Key Tours.
