Hans Dannenberg, Puerto Plata Hotel Association director, visited Japan to
promote tourism in the Japanese Travel Agent (JATA) meeting. He mentioned that
Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) consultants say that Puerto
Plata is the Dominican destination that is the most attractive for Japanese travelers.
The key issue is to put together attractive packages, getting around the high
cost of the airfare. Connections are available via New York, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam
or Frankfurt. The Ministry of Tourism under Tourism Minister Rafael Suberví opened
a tourism office in Tokyo to promote Japanese travel. Japanese government statistics
show that approximately 15 million Japanese nationals travel abroad every year.
In 2000, 147,000 Japanese tourists visited Miami.