2006 Travel News Archive – Page 21

The USA Today this week highlights how an increasing number of US baseball fans are traveling to the DR to follow the players as they go to bat for their local teams. Santo Domingo and Santiago, not known for beaches, are two favorite sites for baseball outings. See http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2006-01-25-dominican-winter-league_x.htm

The New York Times has chosen the Dominican Republic as its Family Destination of the Year. In its 22 January Sunday edition, the influential daily publishes a story by Caren Osten Gerszberg where she says that the country is becoming increasingly better known for its “growing number of family-centered resorts with activities ranging from windsurfing …

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The Canadian group that operates the Sun Village Resort & Spa in Cofresi, Puerto Plata will be opening a sister hotel in Juan Dolio, along the southeastern coast of the country. The Elliot Group has taken over the former Melia Caribe and will be reopening it as a 240-room hotel with casino, and access to …

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Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez has revealed that the tourism sector contributed US$3.5 billion in receipts last year, 12% more than the estimated US$3.1 billion in receipts in 2004. He attributed the increase in revenue to the boom in US travelers. Last year a record 1,010,012 tourists visited from the United States, the first time the …

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Two Dominican supermodels will be starring in X Men III, the eagerly anticipated comic book film. They are Omahyra Mota who will play the role of Stacy X, an attractive mutant, and Dania Ramirez as Callisto, the mutant morlock leader. X-Men 3 is the third film adaptation of the X-Men superhero comic books. Directed by …

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It’s carnival time in the Dominican Republic and if you have not been to La Vega, be sure to visit on any Sunday in February, starting 5 February. This year there will be a special parade on Monday, 27 February, Independence Day. While the climax is the last Sunday of the month when all the …

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Hotetur Villas Doradas Beach Resort in Cabarete will be closing for complete renovation for six months as from 1 May. The company’s intent is to upgrade the hotel’s facilities and services to four stars. Hotetur is a Spanish operating company. http://dr1.com/directories/hotels/dorado_club_hotetur.shtml

Spanish-based Pineyro hotel group’s Bahia Principe chain has taken over the Portillo Beach Resort in Las Terrenas, Samana. The hotel closed on 15 January and is scheduled to re-open once fully renovated in November, in time for the 2006-2007 winter season. The Pineyro group runs hotels in the Playa Grande (Rio San Juan) area on …

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The mountain vacation area of Constanza is revving up to partake in the fun that Carnival brings to the Dominican Republic. The Constanza carnival troupes are making an early start, with celebrations from the last weekend in January till the first weekend in March. The Constanza carnival characters are different: dragons, monsters, Indians and gargoyles …

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The whale observation season has begun in Samana. It is open from 15 January, and the season reaches its peak in the month of February. The Ministry of Environment has agreed to extend it this year through mid-April. Thousands of humpbacked whales from the North Atlantic migrate to the waters of the Dominican Republic each …

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