2009 Travel News Archive – Page 16

The second hotel to open in the Punta Cana area in 1984-85, the Barcelo Bavaro Beach set the pace for what was to become the Caribbean’s largest resort beach strip. Now, Claudio Zboznovits, Barcelo Group Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the US and Canada announced at the Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE) in …

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The east coast of the DR continues to be the fastest growing area in the Caribbean, currently with 62 hotels and 31,500 rooms for 48% of the total lodging inventory in the DR, said Ernesto Veloz, president of the Punta Cana and Bavaro Tourism Cluster in his overview address to the Dominican Annual Travel Exchange …

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Speaking at the Dominican Annual Travel Exchange (DATE) meeting in Punta Cana last week, Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia stressed the new public-private alliance in the tourism sector. He predicted that the implementation of the recently approved land use plan for the Punta Cana-Bavaro region would mean that visitors to the area this December “will …

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The Dominican Republic stands to be one of the winners if progress is made towards opening Cuba as a cruise ship destination. Michael Ronan, spokesman for the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association said that cruise companies are monitoring the situation and would be ready to take part in cruises that could be launched from Florida to Cuba. …

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Speaking during DATE, Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia said that the Ministry was working closely with Aerodom, operators of the Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata airports, on a plan to stay ahead in keeping and securing new airlift to the DR. He announced efforts to attract more Brazilian travelers who currently visit on charters or …

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During the Caribbean Tourism & Invesmtent Conference, several speakers highlighted the need to change the business model for the development of hotels and resorts. In recent years, a boom in vacation real estate sales lead many developers to rely on taking in deposits for condos and villas to finance hotel construction. But at the conference, …

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Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), forecast the Caribbean will continue to do well, despite the negative numbers posted for 2008 and 2009. He said that the long term travel & tourism prospects for the Caribbean remain healthy, with real GDP growth for the sector expected to average 3.3% per annum over …

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Prime Minister Ewart Brown of Bermuda sent a message to his Caribbean colleagues when he emphasized sustainability when addressing attendants to the 13th Caribbean Tourism & Investment Conference held at the Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda last week. Addressing developers, financiers and businessmen, the Prime Minister spoke of how “a capitalist problem is requiring socialist solutions.” …

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Santo Domingo is becoming a big cruise ship capital in the Caribbean, with the improvements and expansions of the Port of Santo Domingo. The other important ports are the La Romana Casa de Campo Port and the offshore port in Samana Bay. For the event, more than 1,000 cruise industry partners will come together with …

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Santo Domingo’s Chinatown is celebrating the first anniversary of the formal opening of its arches and wide sidewalks in the area with the largest number of Chinese-owned businesses in Santo Domingo. For the event, a special Chinatown stamp issue is planned for Friday, 17 April at 6pm at the “Chinese Migration Gate” on Av. Duarte …

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