2003 Travel News Archive – Page 17

Frank Rainieri, president of the Punta Cana Group, announced that the Punta Cana Resort & Golf Club and the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University will be offering a one-week executive program in winter 2004. The Executive Certificate in Environmental Conservation, Economics and Policy combines instruction from recognized environmental scientists and policy …

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Monday, 5 May is a holiday in the Dominican Republic. It celebrates Labor Day, which falls on Thursday, 1 May. The Ministry of Labor announced that it would be celebrated on Monday, instead of on Friday, 2 May. Regardless, hotel occupancy will be at an all time high for the long weekend. Thousands of Dominicans …

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?In the next 30 years, the world will be more affected by environmental challenges than by terrorism,? former President Bill Clinton said during his opening remarks at the ?Making Biodiversity Work for your Travel Business? meeting, held from 24-26 April in Punta Cana. ?In the 21st century we won?t have economy if we do not …

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Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, New York Senator Hillary Rodham, had lunch with President Hip?lito Mej?a and First Lady Rosa G?mez on Friday in Santo Domingo. The Clintons were in the Dominican capital on their Easter holiday. Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch also attended the luncheon, as well as other Mej?a family …

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El Caribe newspaper highlights today what is becoming very apparent: bachata has nudged merengue aside as the most popular current genre of music in the Dominican Republic. Leading Dominican contemporary musician Luis D?as attributes the merengue?s decline in popularity to the resistance of the orchestras and bandleaders to pay good Dominican composers. ?The national music …

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Ellis Perez, director of communications for Aerodom, referring to the lack of adequate medical supplies at the Las Americas International Airport as reported in the Diario Libre, sent the following statement to DR1:  ?Regardless of the state of supplies of the public medical facilities at the airport, in order to comply with requirements of the …

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Magda de la Torre, North American director for the Ministry of Tourism, says that 2,065 US- and Canada-based travel agents successfully completed the first Dominican Republic Travel Experts seminars-in-print program. The program to certify travel agents on selling the Dominican Republic was carried in publications in Recommend, Travel Agent and Travel Weekly magazines. The participants …

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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 …

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American Airlines reports dated 24 April show a first-quarter net loss of US$1.04 billion. This compares with a net loss of US$1.56 billion in the same period of 2002. The most recent quarterly results follow a $3.5 billion loss in 2002 for AA, which lies teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Describing the first-quarter results …

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On a positive note, airline industry reports are focusing on the continued success of the US?s newest low-fare airline, JetBlue. The discount airline earned US$15.2 million in its first quarter, compared to earnings of US$11.1 million in the same quarter period one year ago. These gains are despite having had to absorb increased fuel and …

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