Elyse Elkins has been a friend of the Dominican Republic since the early 80s, when she assisted current Tourism Minister Rafael Suberv? in his first term as head of the Dominican tourism department. Despite making inroads and receiving many promotions at Travel Impressions tour company, with its 24,000 travel agencies, Elkins has kept in close touch with the DR since then, of her own volition. In a quick interview during her stay for the DATE conference in Punta Cana-Bavaro, Elkins, as the current director of Caribbean product development for Travel Impressions, feels that even better days are ahead for the island.
When asked specifically about how Punta Cana is evolving, she explained that the area got its start by attracting the tour operators with substantially lower rates. Next came the charter flights, followed by the arrival of the scheduled airlines. Elkins says that now is the time to reach out and diversify the tourism product, by offering options outside of the all-inclusive vacations. Elkins highlighted that the DR is ripe to develop the room-only hotel plans, where tourists have a greater selection of where they will dine and spend their time. ?We need more sectors,? she says, pointing out that many US vacationers prefer non-all-inclusive properties and that they would be willing to pay more for a wider range of services.
Elkins is optimistic that the advent of major US chains (Superclubs, Hilton, and then Westin and Starwood in the future) will further enhance the Dominican tourism product. Soon, she says, the DR will begin receiving thousands of patrons of the Superclubs in Jamaica. She expects exuberant word-of-mouth of the Dominican Superclubs to spread when their first guests return home from their Dominican vacations.
When asked about where services could be improved, she said the language training of the staff should be stepped up. She also feels that the Punta Cana area could improve its shopping facilities.