2008 Travel News Archive – Page 14

The Rolex Farr 40 World Championship has chosen Casa de Campo Marina for the hosting of the 2010 regatta. The exact date has not yet been set. The 2008 championship took place 11-19 April in Miami. The 2009 event is scheduled for 19-27 June in Sardinia, Italy. The regatta is broken into a two-day pre-world …

Read more…

Once again, Cabarete is preparing to host several of the world’s top kiteboarders for the 25 June through 29 June Professional Kiteboard Riders Association Cabarete World Cup 2008. The PKRA event will take place at Bozo Beach, Cabarete in Puerto Plata. Prize money this year is US$40,000, and the entrance fee is US$105 for competitors …

Read more…

The Ministry of Tourism publishes its priorities for the next four years under Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez today. This is expected to be Jimenez’s third term as minister of Tourism in the likely scenario of President Fernandez being reelected. Jimenez forecasts that by 2012 the DR would be receiving five million visitors, up from four …

Read more…

Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez says that the number of tourist arrivals increased by 5.9% in March 2008. This brings the total of non-resident foreign arrivals to an 8% increase for the first three months of this year. The statistics indicate that US and Canadian arrivals increased by 9% and 7.4%. Other source markets registering increases …

Read more…

The 9th Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange , which took place in Bavaro recently, included 2,616 pre-arranged appointments between buyers and suppliers. This is 1,249 more than in 2007, when there were 1,367 pre-booked appointments. The president of the National Hotels & Restaurants Association, Luis Lopez said that 524 delegates registered for DATE, including suppliers and …

Read more…

Cesar Castaneda, director of operations for the World Tourism Organization’s World Center of Excellence for Destinations (CED), is encouraging the DR to take the leadership in the Caribbean and adopt the System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations (SMED) that will be launched in June 2008. Castaneda took part in the Under the Same Roof workshop, …

Read more…

ITB has published its World Travel Trends Report 2008, which was first released at the ITB Berlin Convention. The report reveals that the upward trend for travel has continued for the fourth year in a row, with a worldwide increase of 6% in outbound travel. It also showed that 50% of all reservations in Europe …

Read more…

The Elliot Foundation has made an initial donation of US$14,000 to the Dr. Ricardo Limardo public Hospital in Puerto Plata. The donation will fund the remodeling of the hospital’s pediatric wing. The remodeling will be supervised by the Voluntariado Jesus con los Ninos, a volunteer group at the hospital. Tonia Caiat, executive director of the …

Read more…

The Hotel Courtyard by Marriott Santiago is boasting its elite Platinum Award distinction, one of the most coveted awards offered by Marriott International which was awarded to just 16 of 700 Courtyard properties in the world during the Marriott General Managers Conference held in Anaheim, CA. The distinction recognizes the hotel’s operational efficiency and high …

Read more…

The DR Jazz Festival will be held again this November, with stages in Cabarete Beach in Puerto Plata, as well as in Santiago. Since its first year, the festival has featured a number of world famous jazz musicians including Chuck Mangione, David Sanchez, Ray Baretto, Nestor Torres, Chucho Valdes and Arturo Sandoval. “What makes this …

Read more…