2003 – Page 54

Punta Cana continues to lead in arrivals

Punta Cana continues to be the leading tourist destination in the Dominican Republic, with 47% of all air arrivals landing at that terminal. Next was Puerto Plata, which was port of entry for 24% of foreign air arrivals. Traffic to Puerto Plata was up 29% for the period. Las Americas (Santo Domingo) followed with 17%, …

Charter destinations

Primarily a port of arrival for sun-seeking vacationers, Punta Cana International leads the nation in number of charter flight arrivals. During the January-April period, the Punta Cana airport received 481,664 passengers on board charter flights. Only 21,408 passengers arrived on scheduled flights. Puerto Plata, in the north coast, received 179,183 passengers on board charters, and …

Performance of source markets

The United States and Canada travelers made up 54.5% of the total foreign tourist arrivals to the Dominican Republic during the first four months of the year. Europeans are in second place with 40.9%. From South American came another 2.6% of the total arrivals. The United States continues to be the leading source market for …

Reasons for visiting

Exit polls indicate that 96.8% of foreign air arrivals come for leisure reasons. Of these 95.2% stayed at hotels. 60.4% of the travelers are in the 21-49 year age bracket. Airport statistics show that 70,168 arrivals were children aged 0-12 years, this is up 4.5% over the figures for last year. Likewise, some 87,139 were …

See all of the Caribbean

LIAT Super Explorer offers you unlimited travel for 30 days through the entire LIAT network, covering all of LIAT?s 18 destinations in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Super Explorer is available for US$425 (US$399 off peak). LIAT also has available the Explorer, which affords you four stopovers in 21 days, returning to the point of origin …

Boutique hotel for Playa Dorada

Roberto Casoni, of the Puerto Plata hotel chain VHHR, is another flag-bearer of the new ?window open to the sea, door open to the community? philosophy embracing Puerto Plata today, and launched to the international and national press at the Dominican Annual Travel Exchange meeting in late April. The country needs new hoteliers that help …

Villa vacations, polo and spa

Guavaberry Country Club & Golf announced last week it will be offering lodging at its golf club villas. Guavaberry is now targeting the family and golf crowd, people who like to go out to eat and enjoy the variety of cuisine available at Guayacanes and Juan Dolio restaurants. During DATE, general manager Tomas Hungria announced …

Helping children help themselves

Fundacion Patria is making reality the new north coast slogan of ?window open to the sea and door open to the community?. The non-profit organization began in 2001 when Riu Merengue general manager Ramon Ripoll Santana went on a touristic outback trip that took him to visit a small rural school where he noticed a …

Playa Dorada goes back to its origins

During the first years after the Playa Dorada hotels opened in the mid 70s, the north coast beach destination attracted an affluent middle class well traveled Americans, interested in the new Caribbean experience. Thousands of US tourists came, many even returning to purchase real estate, leading to the first boom of the area. Gradually price …

DATE fills expectations

Johnny Bernal, president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, said at a press conference in Puerto Plata last Friday that DATE Puerto Plata had filled all expectations. An estimated 10% more buyers came this year, and buyers were impressed by the comprehensive approach to selling the destination while offering guests a comfortable place to …

Search