2009 Travel News Archive – Page 22

Senior vice president for Ritz Carlton for the Caribbean, Ezzat Coutry says that the construction of the Ritz Carlton in Cap Cana, on the East Coast of the Dominican Republic is a firm commitment. “The project is confirmed. It is just a matter of the owners getting their financing,” he said during a press conference …

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Interval International vice president David Callaghan would like to see more condo properties available in the Caribbean to fill the present demand. Speaking at Marketplace in St Lucia, he said that demand continues strong for Caribbean vacation exchanges. “We do not have enough fractional in the Caribbean, it is a market that is underserved.” He …

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Enrique Eduardo de Marchena, president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, is advocating for Caribbean governments to reconsider the high cost of visas that affect inter-island traffic. Speaking during Marketplace, he mentioned that he had to pay US$50 for the right to get a visa and then had to wait an additional hour at …

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During his opening address to the Caribbean Marketplace held in St. Lucia, Colin Hunte, president of the St. Lucia Tourist and Hotel Association, challenged 1,366 attendees from 20 countries to cooperate more at local and regional levels to maximize opportunities through creativity and inventiveness. He urged the region to tap into its best asset – …

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Enrique de Marchena, president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, in St Lucia addressed the challenges ahead and lessons from the global financial crisis to be learned for the Caribbean and the Dominican tourism industry. “Projects that did not have a large level of leverage will continue,” he said, commenting on how this is …

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Graeme Davis, vice president for Caribbean operations has announced that Westin Roco Ki is now scheduled for opening in time for winter 2009-2010. “We are shooting for late this year or the first quarter of next year at the latest,” he said during Marketplace in St Lucia. “The reasons for the delay are financial; we …

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New trends have developed as travelers respond to the uncertainty the present global financial crisis has brought to travel. Consumers are more likely to postpone travel decisions, rather than cancel their decision to travel outright, according to delegates at the Marketplace St. Lucia event, the leading travel booking annual event of the Caribbean. This is …

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Carol Johnson, publisher of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons is bearish on the weddings category. She says that weddings are a recession-proof category. “In tough times people tend to bond together. Weddings unite households”. She said that the Kiplinger Report is predicting 100,000 more weddings this year. She commented that post-9/11 there was a surge in …

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Sivory Punta Cana proudly announces it was chosen the Leading Boutique Hotel of the Dominican Republic during the World Travel Awards 2008 event held in December in Turks & Caicos. Sivory is a 55-room member of the Small Luxury Hotels organization, and an AA four Diamond hotel. It is located northernmost in the Punta Cana …

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Located about a five minute drive west of the windsurfing and kiteboarding section of Cabarete on the North Coast, Playa Encuentro is regarded as the Dominican Republic’s top surfing spot. There, 321 Takeoff has been teaching visitors how to ride the waves of Cabarete’s famous beach for eight years. Owned by Marcus Bohm, the surf …

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