2001 Travel News Archive – Page 23

Ventura Serra, head of Occidental Hotels operations in the DR, announced the closing of the Caribbean Village Playa Grande (Maria Trinidad Sanchez province) and the Club on the Green (Playa Dorada) for remodeling. The hotels will be closed for four months. The announcements follow the closing of the Puerto Plata Beach Resort in Puerto Plata …

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The Association of Spanish Festivities in the DR held Santo Domingo’s first bull run ever over the weekend. A three-minute bull run took place from Atarazana street through Vicente Celestino Duarte and Cristobal Colon. Youths raced the confused bulls that didn’t understand what was going on. The Spaniards tried to do a Caribbean version of …

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President Mejia toured the Dolphins Encounters Park in Blue Lagoon Island during his recent visit to the Bahamas to attend the Caricom heads of state summit. There he offered his government’s support so that Deep & Down Discovery company could build a similar facility as they operate in the Blue Lagoon Island in Cofresí, Puerto …

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Dominican business groups are investing RD$800 million in the construction of a small town, Pueblo Bavaro, 10 minutes away from the Punta Cana International Airport. The small town is planned for 40,000 inhabitants. The idea is to provide adequate housing and services to the thousands of employees of the Punta Cana-Bavaro-Macao area resorts. President Mejia …

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El Caribe reports that the Caribbean Tourism Organization has called an emergency meeting in Barbados to discuss the decline of travel to the area. Caribbean tourism averaged 6% growth last year, but the outlook is bleak for this year. The DR is expected to grow around 5% this year, down from 12% last year. The …

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Occidental Hotels announced the closing of the Caribbean Village Occidental Playa Grande, the main hotel in the Playa Grande area. Occidental will start major renovation works at the hotel that is located adjacent to the Playa Grande Golf Course, rated as one of the best, if not the best in the Caribbean. (6 July 2001)

Canada, Jamaica, Barbados and the Dominican Republic will compete for two available slots in the World Volleyball Cup to be held in 2002 World Championship in Germany. The event will take place at the Sports Palace of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center 12-15 July. The DR and Canada are the favorites to win the …

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