Latest figures for tourists visiting the Dominican Republic released by the Central Bank show a huge increase through the months of January through September compared to last year! Over 3,500,000 non-residents spent time in the Dominican Republic, that's over 135,000 more than this time last year.

Punta Cana is the most popular destination attracting over 1,500,000 tourists with Santiago second with 577,000. Puerto Plata Airport was third with 317,000.

One interesting figure was more women (54%) visit the Dominican Republic than men (46%)!

 

Punta Cana - According to a study published in June this year entitled "Economic Value of Coastal Ecosystems in the Dominican Republic," by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Reef Check, the report provides a detailed view of the economic value recreational beaches and coral reefs and mangroves, fisheries and the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic.

"Coral reefs and mangroves provide many valuable benefits, or 'ecosystem services' to the people and economy of the Dominican Republic," said Lauretta Burke, WRI expert. "They help build beaches and reduce erosion, attract millions of local and international tourists to the coast, and provide valuable habitat for fishing. However, these ecosystems are being degraded by pollution and overfishing - a threat to the economy of the towns and country." 

Higuey - The provincial office of the Ministry of Health together with other authorities and several non-profit institutions have begun a fight against dengue which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and to a lesser extent by the Aedes albopictus.

The operation, led by the provincial health director, Dr. Jaime Rodriguez and Gov. Luis Cedeño, have been working closely with the Association of Hotels and Tourism Projects in the Eastern area of the Dominican Republic, namely Punta Cana, Bavaro, Higuey and La Romana and have provided fumigation equipment and portable pumps to spray the different sectors of these provinces.

Among the institutions that worked with Public Health, are the Civil Defence, the Dominican Red Cross and neighborhood associations.

While you were here on vacation, did you manage to notice the Haitian children who beg on Dominican streets, or the Haitian children who run up to your car while at the traffic lights to sell you a phonecard, mango, avocado, phone charger or bottle of water?

Well, unfortunately, this is part of life in the Dominican Republic for thousands of Haitian kids, some as young as 5 or 6 years of age are out and about on our streets daily trying to earn whatever little cash they can. These kids are more noticeable in tourist towns, such as Sosua, Cabarete, Punta Cana and Bavaro where they beg from tourists and offer their "Limpia-bota" (shoe-shine) service for as little as RD$10 (US$0.27)

Amhsa Marina was the favorite among hotel chains in the Dominican Republuc in 2009 in a ranking conducted by Read & Associates, whose aim was to find the most admired company by Dominicans in the past year.

The chain won first place among national and second position between 10 international hotel chains.

Luis Lopez, president of Amhsa Marina Hotels & Resorts, expressed his satisfaction with the staff that makes up the chain that provides daily delivery of excellence to their work and stressed that this is a recognition that motivates the company to continue the commitment to excellence and quality of services it offers.

March 22 to March 28  - The Cap Cana Championship is back for the 3rd consecutive year and this year hopes to be even better than the previous two.

This official PGA Champions Tour event, with a US$1.6 million purse, is being held at the Punta Espada signature design of Jack Nicklaus golf course. This course is already listed among the worlds finest, with even some golf magazines ranking it as the best golf course in the Caribbean and Mexico. Eight of its holes play along and over the sea and from every direction golfers can experience amazing views of the Caribbean.

Some of the players already confirmed for this years championship include - Keith Fergus (Defending champion)  Bernhard Langer,  Jay Haas, Jeff Sluman, Nick Price, Joey Sindelar, Tom Kite, Mark Wiebe, Hale Irwin, Corey Pavin, Wayne Levi, David Frost and Vicente Fernandez.

The Championship is being televised globally through the Golf Channel and subsidiaries

Punta Cana - Ernesto Veloz, President of the Hotel Association of Punta Cana, has announced that the tourist zone of Punta Cana generates around 35,000 jobs.

Last year, more than 1.8million tourists visited the area (Mainly from the US, Canada and Europe) and that there was a rise of 1.6% in new jobs created in the area and this is expected to rise during 2009/10.

Situated in the south coast of the Dominican Republic, La Romana's Cruise and International Tourist Port was certified with an ISPS code yesterday. More commonly known as the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code means that the port has been accredited with the security requirements of the International Maritime Organization. Bad news if you were hoping to try and sneak a bottle of rum or two onto your ship whilst in port. La Romana is home to the upmarket luxury resort of Casa de Campo and world class golf courses such as the "Teeth of the Dog" and the famous concert ampitheatre Altos de Chavon. La Romana is approximately 30 minutes drive east to Bayahibe and one and a half hours drive east to the resorts of Punta Cana, Cap Cana and Bavaro.

AirTran Airways are pleased to announce the start of a new daily non stop flight between Hartfield Jackson Atlata International Airport and Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic. This high quality low cost service means that AirTran customers will now have easy and great value for money access to the beautiful white sand beaches and resorts of Bavaro, Punta Cana and Cap Cana. Punta Cana is the sixth Caribbean destination within the AirTran network. Service is scheduled to begin on April 7th 2011.

The Ministry of Tourism were pleased to announce that the Dominican Republic was visited by over 4 million tourists in 2010. This shows a 3.3 year on year increase over and above the recorded figures for 2009. Over one million of these passengers arrived from the United States, which includes a year on year increase of over 83,000 passengers from North America. Other notable growth areas are South America which saw an increase of over 67,000 passengers coming from Argentina, Chile, Brazil as well as Central America. The most popular destinations continue to be Punta Cana, Bavaro, Cap Cana, La Romana and Bayahibe with 57% of all arrivals, followed by Santo Dominigo with 22%, with the resorts of Puerto Plata, Playa Dorada, Sosua, Cabarete and Samana at 11%.