2003 – Page 45

For the second consecutive year, Apple Vacations, a leading United States tour operator, recognized the Secrets Excellence Punta Cana and Sunscape Punta Cana Grand with its Golden Apple Award. Out of over 500 hotels that form part of the Apple Vacations program, these resorts are but a handful of quality properties that to earn this …

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Laura Bagley, the editor of Travel & Leisure magazine, appeared on the CBS Morning Show on Saturday, 2 October to promote the publication?s new Fall edition of a Family Travel magazine. The magazine ranked their readers? favorite family destinations around the world and gave top honors to the Caribbean?s Casa de Campo in La Romana, …

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The Dominican Republic successfully participated in the Caribbean Tourism Organization and Caribbean Hotel Association press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to present the status of the Caribbean following the August and September tropical storms. Deputy Tourism Minister Luis Simo and marketing director for the National Hotel Association (Asonahores) represented the country. Asonahores distributed several …

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Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez was recently in France to participate in the Top Resa tourism trade show, where he met with several leading French tour operators and industry leaders to discuss the characteristics of the French traveler. Among those with whom he met were Jean Marc Siano, the director general of TUI France and Nouvelle …

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Zoe Saldana, of ?The Terminal?, ?Pirates of the Caribbean? and ?Center Stage? fame, will be in the Dominican Republic in October in the lead role in the film, ?La maldicion del padre Cardona,? a romantic comedy produced by Dominican Felix German production. New Jersey-born to Dominican parents, Saldana lived many years in the DR where …

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In an interview with Diario Libre, Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez advanced that his department has plans to hire a Spanish advertising agency to handle Dominican travel advertising in Spain. Likewise, he said that President Leonel Fernandez himself recommended an advertising company located in Florida to be in charge of advertising in the United States and …

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Susanne Mai of Cabarete, Puerto Plata representing the Dominican Republic, won the 2004 Red Bull Queen of the Air award, the max for a women kiteboarding in the world during the competition held in Maui, Hawaii. Mai becomes the first woman to repeat in the competition. The event was held at Ho?Okipa beach. She competed …

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USA Today ?Virtual Voyager? columnist, Laura Bly stressed in a 24 September column the need for timely, specific and honest information on the status of tourism destinations affected by this year?s many hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin. She comments on several forums that are providing forthright information, that is lacking by official tourist boards. She …

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DR1 is providing constant updates on the status of hotels affected by Hurricane Jeanne in the Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo hotels were not affected, Puerto Plata and Sosua hotels suffered minor landscaping damages, in Cabarete recovery has been quick now that power has been restored. La Romana has rebounded quickly and is back to normal, …

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The Dominican Republic last Thursday, 16 September joined the long list of Caribbean countries that have been hit this summer in minor or greater degree by hurricanes affecting the area. This year, a record number of Caribbean islands have been affected. In addition to Florida, and other areas in the United States, islands in the …

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