Johnny Bernal, president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, told Hoy newspaper that hotels have not reported any significant cancellations of their bookings. He said that while the volume of reservations for the summer season is below normal levels, he nevertheless pointed out that the end of April and May are normally ?shoulder weeks? to the winter and summer travel seasons.
Frank Rainieri said that the arrival of travelers via the Punta Cana International Airport has declined a mere 4-5%, an insignificant amount by industry standards. He said that with the winter travel season coming to an end, this is only normal. Rainieri also mentioned that Punta Cana hotels enjoyed occupancies of 80% this winter, with very few cancellations. ?Up until now the effects of the US-Iraq war have not been felt in the travel sector. Already a week into the war, we need to continue monitoring the situation even more closely,? he said. ?Our biggest concern is that the war be prolonged and petroleum prices go up again, as this affects travel because it increases the cost of air travel,? he explained.
Meanwhile, a new trend in the worldwide travel industry is that consumers are giving shorter advance notice when booking trips. Some travelers are now booking at last minute to take advantage of lower airfares and flexible air cancellation policies that didn?t exist before.