2008 Travel News Archive – Page 10

There will be a considerable increase in the number of Brazilian tourists in 2008 to the Dominican Republic now that the Brazilian tour operator CVC has commenced charter flights from Sao Paulo to Punta Cana as of this 7 July. The direct flight shortens the travel time by at least four hours. The tour operator …

Read more…

The governments of the Dominican Republic and Panama signed an Open Skies agreement on 1 July that should strengthen linkages between the DR, Central and South America. Flights through Panama are already an alternative for those seeking to avoid the congestioned Miami International Airport, the traditional transfer point for Latin America. Making matters better, Copa …

Read more…

The Dominican Republic is 47th among the top 50 leaders in numbers of international tourist arrivals, as reported in the recently released June World Tourism Organization Barometer. In Latin America and Caribbean region, Mexico is 10th, Brazil is 41st, Argentina 44th. The DR received 4 million arrivals in 2007. Travel for the first quarter to …

Read more…

The United Nations World Tourism Organization Barometer forecasts that so far this year there has been healthy performance of the tourism sector around the world. “Even though the overall economic climate has deteriorated, prospects are still fairly positive. For 2008 as a whole, UNWTO maintains its forecast that the growth of international tourist arrivals will …

Read more…

Tourism ministers and representatives of hotel associations attending the First Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit announced that major advances were made on the structural changes that will convert the new Caribbean Tourism Development Company, that merges the Caribbean Tourism Organization (representing Caribbean government tourism departments) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (representing the private tourism sector), into …

Read more…

During the First Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit, Caribbean Tourism Development Company secretary general Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace announced that the CDTC had engaged the services of a lobbying firm to put forward the Caribbean’s special interests that require the support of the US Congress. Among the issues discussed was how the Western Hemisphere Initiative, which requires US …

Read more…

The Caribbean Tourism Development Company considers that obtaining the pre-clearance facility is the top priority and of top strategic importance for the Caribbean. Pre-clearance is a facility that enables travelers to clear US Customs abroad and enter the US as domestic travelers. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Development Company explained that the …

Read more…

In an address to the press during the closing of the 2008 Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit, Alec Sanguinetti, CEO of the Caribbean Hotel Association speculated that Southwest airlines could be interested in flying to the Caribbean. He said that nations that adopt pre-clearance would be in a position to receive Southwest jets. Pre-clearance is a …

Read more…

James Kennedy of Brainjuicer, Inc., speaking at the ACTS Summit in Washington, D.C. alerted that safety is a deciding factor for German travelers. His recommendation is that destinations promote local culture and diversity to convert potential visitors into real visitors. “It is important to help the independent traveler to be independent,” he concluded at the …

Read more…

The Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit opened this Sunday, 22 June in Washington, D.C. bringing Caribbean ministers of tourism and key hotel sector executives to the forefront of the attractive Washington, D.C. travel market and policy makers. The DR was represented at the event by its private sector, with three Dominicans on the board of the …

Read more…