Hotel & Restaurant Association’s 4 October bulletin reports that the DR is the second leading Caribbean destination for French tourists. In 1999, the DR received 135,000 French tourists, and was second in number of French arrivals only to the French Antilles that received 650,000 French tourists. Minister of Tourism Ramon Alfredo Bordas said in a press conference during the Top Resa 2000 travel fair in Paris that the DR will begin to try to increase its numbers of individually traveling French tourists. He said that new promotions should position the country as an attractive destination yearlong. Bordas said that 33% of French tourist purchase tour packages that take them to tour different destinations within a country, 25% will visit cities and cultural attractions, and 26% prefer spending their time solely at their choice of a beach destination. He said that the average French tourist spends US$1,148 per stay and will stay an average of eight nights. He said that 34% of French go on holiday twice a year and 26% travel at least once a year, preferably in the summer time. In the DR French investment is head by Club Med with its Punta Cana hotel and Accor that operates the Sofitel Hotel Frances (19 rooms) and the Hotel Mercure Comercial (100 rooms) both in the Colonial City. Accor has under construction the Sofitel Nicolas de Ovando (170 rooms) and the chain has plans to build a 370 resort in Bavaro in the East and in Samana in the Northeast. (6 October 2000)
