Brazil’s largest tour operator, CVC, has announced two weekly charter flights from Brazil to Punta Cana from December 2008 through the spring months in 2009. The direct flights shave off four hours from the usual connection through Panama or Miami.
CVC was successful in its summer program to bring tourists to the DR. In July and the first week in August, 1,005 Brazilians traveled to hotels in the Punta Cana area, according to CVC international commercial director Michael Barkoczy.
The director of the Dominican Tourism Office in Brazil, Andrea Majela said that the first charter will depart on 13 December, on the route Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo-Manaus-Punta Cana. The tour operator uses TAM airline flights, with 169 seats on an A320 Airbus.
In 2007, 12,437 Brazilian tourists visited the DR. For 2008, the goal is for 18,000 Brazilians to come for a Dominican holiday.