In a news story by Marjie Lambert released on Sunday, 13 November, the Miami Herald reports that tourism is doing well in the Dominican Republic. The Miami Herald forecasts that 2011 will end as a record year for Dominican tourism. Air and cruise ship arrivals through July totaled 2,712,307, compared to Cuba’s 1,747,508 and Jamaica’s 879,331.
Lambert says experts forecast that by year-end, foreign arrivals should break the five million mark. The Dominican Republic, the Caribbean’s top tourism destination, expects record numbers of tourists this year and next, says the story. “It’s on pace to receive nearly five million visitors in 2011, topping the record set last year”.
“The global economy is clearly having an effect on tourism, but the Dominican Republic is trending higher. It’s a growing and developing destination,” said Scott Sperling, senior economist at Pennsylvania-based Tourism Economics, which forecasts travel patterns around the world.
“We are attracting the [US] tourists who are not going to Europe because it’s far and more expensive,” said Humberto Ozoria, spokesman for the Dominican Ministry of Tourism.
Sperling said the total number of visitors to the country – arriving by airplane and cruise ship – is expected to increase by 4.7 percent this year and grow by a robust 5.7 percent in 2012.
“Because of the economic situation, Americans that used to travel to long-haul destinations have shifted their preferences to traveling to closer destinations,” the ministry said.
The country is less than two hours from Miami by direct flight, and the government is trying to cash in on that proximity with the advertising slogan “Closer than you think.”
Tim Mullen, president of Apple Vacations, the largest US operator of tours to the Dominican Republic told the Miami Herald the industry hopes to catch the eye of impulsive travelers for whom shorter trips with attractive prices work well.
www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/13/v-fullstory/2500560/record-year-expected-for-tourism.html