Flights to the Dominican Republic, booming: Avianca and JetBlue increase operations

ON THE MEDELLÍN-PUNTA CANA AND NEWARK-PUERTO PLATA ROUTES, RESPECTIVELY

 The JAC highlights the boost in tourism with an increase in flights

 Demand for passengers to the country grows for next summer

The Civil Aviation Board ( JAC ) approved a request for a Special Permit in favor of the air operator Avianca and an amendment to the operating permit of the airline JetBlue, which expand its operations to transport more passengers to Dominican soil, as reported by the president of the institution, José E. Marte Piantini.

In the ordinary meeting of the plenary session of the JAC, it was decided that as of July 1, 2021, and for six months, the airline Aerovías del Continente Americano SA (Avianca) is authorized to fly, with passenger, cargo, and mail on the Medellín-Punta Cana – Medellín route (MDE-PUJ-MDE), which represents the expansion of services and options available to air transport users in the country.

The president of the JAC stated during the knowledge of Avianca’s request that after the sanitary measures adopted by the government of Luis Abinader, the Dominican Republic maintains the confidence of air operators as a tourist destination in the Caribbean. “So the reactivation of the sector is due to a collective effort between the State and the private sector to strengthen our tourism,” said Piantini.

During the session, the request for Amendment of the Operation Permit No. 47 of the airline JetBlue Airways Corporation was also known, for the inclusion of the Newark-Puerto Plata-Newark route, with a frequency of five flights a week.

According to Newark’s information, as the original destination, it has positioned itself in the top 5 at the Gregorio Luperón International Airport in the last five years, located in Puerto Plata.

With the start of operations of JetBlue Airways on the Newark / Puerto Plata route, with an A-320 aircraft with a capacity for 162 passengers, five flights will be added in addition to the three weekly flights carried out by United Airlines totaling eight weekly flights on this route between both airlines.

“These two new air operations are a reflection of the vision of relaunching commercial air relations as the main axis of tourism,” said Marte Piantini.

Abinader extends curfew until May 16 with the same schedule

Santo Domingo, DR

President Luis Abinader ordered the validity of the current curfew until May 16, in a decree issued this Thursday morning.

Through Decree 231-21, signed last Wednesday but released by the Presidency today, the president kept the current curfew schedule in effect from tomorrow, Friday, April 16, until May 16.

The current curfew hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., with a grace period of 3 hours to circulate. In the case of weekends, the curfew begins at 7:00 at night, with the same grace of 3 hours to circulate. It also ends at 5:00 in the morning.

The Dominican government took this measure after the National Congress approved a new state of emergency for another 45 days.

The deputies approved on Wednesday, April 7 of this year, after the Dominican president requested it to the National Congress on March 26.

In the communication that the president sent to the legislators, he points out that thanks to the curfew and the other social distancing measures adopted during the state of emergency, it has been possible to “exercise control over the disease, which is why it is necessary to maintain and modulate them while ensuring a gradual and safe economic reopening.”

The country has lived under a continuous state of emergency since July 20, 2020, by decree 265-20 signed by Danilo Medina in consensus with the then-elected authorities, headed by Luis Abinader.

The current state of emergency expires today, April 15.

Canadian tourism to the country is reduced

While between January and February 2020, the Dominican Republic received 261,359 tourists from Canada, one of its important source markets, for this same period of 2021, 5,566 Canadians arrived in the country.

The cancellation of flights from this North American country to the Caribbean and Mexico, on January 29, caused that just when this market could begin to recover after the effects of the Covid, it declined in February when it only received 360 Canadian visitors, while in January 5,206 were received.

These statistics taken from the Central Bank indicate a fall of 97.87% when comparing the arrival of tourists from Canada between January and February 2020 and these two months of 2021, which represents 255,793 fewer tourists in absolute terms. Overall, between January and February of this year, 141,037 tourists were received from North America.

When consulting the Tourism Intelligence System (Situr) of the Ministry of Tourism, it was observed that in January 2021, the average number of passengers per flight from Canada was 78.7 passengers. In February, it stood at 0 passengers per flight and in March by 0.3. Canada is only allowing flights to depart in essential situations.

Central Bank-Tourism info-sharing aims to boost sector

Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Tourism and the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic will exchange information to monitor the tourism sector in search of attracting visitors from potential markets.

Both institutions signed a MOU on Wednesday that establishes a cooperation agreement.

According to a press release, the information will allow the sharing of statistics on tourism investment, the number of establishments in the sector, how many tourists arrive each day and from where.

In addition, how many come alone, in couples with their relatives, the generation to which they belong, among other data.

Dominican Republic, among the countries in the Americas with the best perception for receiving tourists

The communication and marketing agency The Blueroom Project presented the Study of Perception on Safe Destinations, spring 2021 edition, covid-19; intending to make known which are the national and international destinations with the best perception to travel this summer according to tourism professionals in Spain, as well as the requirements for choosing the destinations and profiles of the people most likely to travel.

One of the main conclusions of the report points out that those destinations that have been declared open to tourism and at the same time have combined coherent management of the covid-19, with low incidence figures and good external communication, will continue to be those most likely to have received more fantastic tourist flows next summer.

According to Spanish tourism professionals, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba are the three American countries with the best perception.

The Maldives, United Arab Emirates, and Seychelles occupy the top three positions of international destinations with the best perception to travel next summer.

According to the study, in a ranking where Costa Rica (71%) or Japan (67%) are also found, as well as Greece (63%) and Portugal (57%) as European representatives.

By continents, Europe is led by Greece, Portugal, and Italy as the destinations with the best perception to travel next summer. Simultaneously, the Maldives, United Arab Emirates, and Japan are the best perceived Asian countries.

Encanto, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Tanzania have been the most voted within the African continent.

According to experts, security against covid-19 and flexible offers will be the main points they will consider when choosing a tourist destination. Nature and open spaces will also be a fundamental factor, indicated by 63% of those surveyed, while connectivity or accessibility is important for 27%.

Tourism professionals also point to image or reputation as a differentiator, as does sustainability.

“In a period where travel specifiers are going to have an actual weight in choosing and organizing trips, it was essential to consult them about their perceptions. Vaccination, together with health security measures, connectivity, nature, and open spaces, the availability of labor mobility, sustainability, and accumulated reputation, following a transparent and coherent strategic communication with the management of the pandemic, are shown as key factors in the recovery of national and international destinations within the Spanish market,” stated the founder and CEO of The Blueroom Project, Alejandro Pérez-Ferrant.

RD accelerates its tourist reactivation: 75% of hotels are open

ASONAHORES HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS IN THE SECTOR

 Dominican tourism represents almost 22% of GDP.

 They work on strategies to make the industry more competitive.

The Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic, Asonahores, stated that it maintains a firm commitment to the sustainable recovery of the tourism sector and the country’s economic stability.

The entity indicated that the arrival of tourists has increased consistently and that more than 75% of hotel properties are open, essential tourism projects are restarting their construction, and new investments are being developed in the sector.

Rafael Blanco Tejera, president of Asonahores, offered these statements at the opening ceremony of the “ASONAHORES Meeting: Innovation + Tourism Talk Dominican Republic” held at the Meliá Caribe Beach Hotel in Punta Cana.

Blanco Tejera explained that the tourism sector represents the engine of the Dominican economy, constituting approximately 22% of the gross domestic product and generating hundreds of thousands of jobs directly, indirectly, and induced.

“The tourism industry is the sector that most closely links with the different productive sectors of the country, and that is why it is so important to focus our efforts on achieving an opening of the international tourism sector that is sustainable over time,” said Blanco Tejera.

He affirmed that from Asonahores, they have carried out strategies and plans to reposition the Dominican Republic as a leading tourist destination in the Caribbean. This guarantees the essential contributions that the tourism sector makes to the country.

Likewise, he stressed that it is vital to have a firm public-private alliance that implements clear policies and that can generate, due to confidence, both the governments of the tourist-issuing countries and the final consumer.

He explained the current collaboration with the Central American Tourism Promotion Agency ( CATA ) to improve the positioning of the Dominican Republic brand as a destination in innovation, diversification, and compliance to continue developing sustainable and sustainable tourism.

“And we must think not only about restoring the levels of growth that we had but also taking advantage of this pause imposed by the pandemic to relaunch our tourism sector more competitively than ever,” said Rafael Blanco Tejera.

He also stated that Asonahores is fully committed to the work that has been developed in conjunction with the public sector, which has shown an unconditional commitment to the tourism sector.

Estimate: Dominican Republic to get 4M+ visitors in 2021

Santo Domingo.- Hotels and Tourism Association (Asonahores) Executive vice president Andrés Marranzini, estimates that tourist arrival will exceed four million visitors this year.

He said the goal is possible and that vaccinations against COVID-19 will strongly reactivate travel. “I think it’s not unreasonable to think of such a number, seeing that in the second semester, with the advance of the vaccination process, a high season comes and perhaps we can return to have the numbers of 400,000 to 500,000 visitors per month.”

He noted however that to reach the goal of four million tourists at the end of the year, Canada has to participate as an issuing country, which remains closed.

“If we have availabilities from some European countries, it is much easier, and that is what will determine whether or not we can exceed four million or more,” he told Telesistema.

Coastal provinces blaze the trail toward sustainable tourism

Santo Domingo.- Enhancing natural resources for the recovery of tourism with a view to sustainability and inclusion of the actors in each of the environments represents a key aspect for economic development.

The coastal provinces of Montecristi and Samaná are examples of this dynamic, where through the Coastal Biodiversity and Tourism (BCyT) project it was possible to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity while serving as an ecotourism attraction.

Its transformations in coastal areas can be seen after five years of recovery under the coordination of the Ministries of the Environment, Tourism, and the United Nations Development Program, with funding from the Global Environmental Facility, which showcased the achievements of that initiative.

Inka Mattila, UNDP resident representative, highlighted that the tourism offer promoted by the country is based on natural resources and its beauties such as beaches, mangroves, unique flora and fauna that are the “raw material” and constitute the natural capital, essential to sustain the destination that the country offers and has positioned it internationally.

With this project it was possible to restore more than 150,000 square meters of beach; link more than 70 businesses in Samaná and Montecristi in actions to reduce or eliminate single-use plastics in their businesses, through the “Better Without Straw” initiative.

The United States contributed 72% of the tourists who visited the Dominican Republic at Easter

DAVID COLLADO ANNOUNCED THAT THE COUNTRY RECEIVED 102,212 TOURISTS

Tourism Minister David Collado announced that the Dominican Republic received 102,212 tourists at Easter.

On that topic, he explained that 72% of foreign visitors came from the United States, 6% from Spain, 4% from Panama, and 3.3% from Puerto Rico.

Collado added that 3% of the tourists received during the holiday belonged to Germany and 2.5% to Colombia.

He assured that the tourism sector is fighting for the 500,000 jobs it generates. “We continue to be a benchmark in the region,” published the minister through his social networks.

It should be noted that the growth in the arrival of tourists to the country goes hand in hand with the work carried out by the Dominican Government together with the health and tourism sectors after the creation of health and safety protocols for the industry and its prompt recovery, the promotion of domestic tourism and the national vaccination process.

Punta Cana stands out with 71% occupancy in recent days

BOCA CHICA AND JUAN DOLIO WERE THE ONES WITH THE HIGHEST HOTEL OCCUPANCY DURING HOLY WEEK

 57% of the visitors were foreigners, and the rest were locals on holiday

At the end of Holy Week, Bávaro-Punta Canaregistered 71.3% occupancy; La Romana-Bayahibepresented 78.6% occupancy, and Puerto Plata  68.6%.

However, Boca Chica and Juan Dolio were the tourist destinations with the highest hotel occupancy during the holiday, with 89.7% of the total available, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Tourism ( Mitur ).

Meanwhile, Sosúa-Cabarete registered 65%, Greater Santo Domingo 51%, and Santiago 42.8%.

Hotel occupancy based on available rooms (80% of the capacity allowed by the Mitur) was 70%, while of the total rooms in the country, it stood at 55%.

Likewise, 57% of the visitors were international, and the rest of the tourists belonged to the domestic market, according to Listín Diario.

Collado: Easter closed with a flow of more than 100,000 tourists

The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, informed that more than 100 thousand tourists visited the Dominican Republic during Holy Week.

After a tour of the main beaches of Punta Cana, he explained that the excellent flow of tourists that was registered is what had been estimated by the government for the Holy Week.

The minister also toured Macao beach together with the president of the “buhoneros,” supervising compliance with the established protocols and security.

He noted that the beach is the most crowded in Bávaro/Punta Cana.

The official remained vigilant and made a tour in all the poles of the country to verify the closing of the restaurants and beaches in the agreed schedules and the fulfillment of the sanitary measures established by the Government for the holiday period.

Collado, who is also the coordinator of the Tourism Cabinet, emphasized that even though many families decided to leave because of the long period confined by the pandemic, “in general, everything went well during this Holy Week.”

He also took the opportunity to supervise, together with Roberto Henriquez and Jackeline Mora, to fulfill the protocols at the Bahia Principe Hotel.

“Supervising compliance with the protocols at the Bahia Principe without prior notice. The recovery of tourism must be in a responsible manner; we will continue to fight day by day for the 500,000 Dominicans who live from the sector because tourism has a human face,” he said.

Nearly 700,000 Dominican workers return to their jobs

Santo Domingo.- In the country, about 500,000 jobs have been reactivated of the almost 700,000 workers who were suspended by the pandemic, according to Labor Minister Luis Miguel De Camps.

At the worst moment of the health crisis, there were about 700,000 workers suspended in Phase 1 and that already at Easter there were only 48,000 suspended employees, the official said.

“Almost half a million workers have been reactivated in their jobs and have restarted. There is still a part left, but the reactivation process promoted by President Luis Abinader is beginning to yield results.”

Dominican Republic faces upbeat economic prospects

Santo Domingo.- Faced with better economic prospects, the Dominican Republic Government halved the expectation of depreciation of the Dominican peso for this year.

In the document Macroeconomic Panorama 2021-2025, revised at the end of last month, the financial authorities estimated that the dollar will close the year with an average price of 59.13 pesos, a year-on-year depreciation of 4.5%, significantly below 9.2% previously calculated.

A livelier industrial activity, a revitalization of family consumption, an unexpected economic growth in February and lower levels of uncertainty due to COVID-19 are some of the signs that envision another scenario.

But not all recovery will proceed at the same pace. The tourism sector, which contributes a third of the foreign exchange that enters the country, will take longer to recover.

In fact, Central Banker Héctor Valdez Albizu, last week said the tourism activity will return to normal by 2023.

Dominican Navy maintains intense maritime and land patrol

All the naval units of the Dominican Navy have been deployed on all national coasts within the operation “Commitment for Life,” Holy Week 2021, in compliance with Presidential Decree l71-21, to protect lives and property.

The general commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Ramón Gustavo Betances Hernández, also ordered a complete and comprehensive deployment of dozens of ground units, which patrol the highway, highways, and the various tourist areas and beaches to attend to any emergency.

In each of the country’s regions, Betances Hernández appointed a general commander, with the responsibility of each of them to maintain strict control of all maritime and land patrols, units, and soldiers deployed in the areas.

Rear Admiral Henry Guzmán Taveras, deputy commander of the Dominican Navy, is in charge of controlling the entire northern area’s work, the institution’s inspector general, and Rear Admiral Segundo Ventura García, is responsible for the whole of the southern region of ​​the country.

Rear Admiral Muñoz Mention also has under his control the Central Naval Command, which contemplates the busy Boca Chica beach and others in the eastern zone. Each of the commanders has all the necessary logistical support.

The general commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Betances Hernández, who travels the different areas supervising each of the places, said that the deployment of the institution’s troops would continue until Easter is over.

He said that as part of the maritime and land protection efforts, in Puerto Plata, four Canadian citizens were rescued, whose boat they passed through Plata Dorara became adrift.

The same happened in the area of ​​Bahía de Las Águilas, Pedernales, where naval units were able to successfully rescue a group of twelve people who were also adrift due to mechanical failure, the pleasure boat in which they were on the high seas.

Asonahores: hotel occupancy is 58.5% this Easter

Hotel occupancy this Easter is 58.5% of all the rooms, which number 92,000 with an operating authorization of 80%.

This was stated yesterday by the executive vice president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), Andrés Marranzini, who added that seeing the sector’s development has been taking, there will probably be a high season the entire year.

“We will probably break the peak of high seasons and low seasons, and we will have a full year high season,” he said.

In detailing the occupation for the Easter holiday, Marranzini indicated that there are 271 hotels reporting operations this week.

He said that when looking at it by area, it is found that Puerto Plata has 3,309 rooms operating, of which 2,299 are reserved and La Romana-Bayahíbe, with 1,157 rooms, has 920 reserved.

Likewise, Samaná with ​​1,414 has 750 reserved rooms, and Bavaro-Punta Cana with 30,000 rooms has about 20,000 reserved.

“Boca Chica- Juan Dolio with about 1,130 has about 667 reserved. Sosúa-Cabarete, with 900 rooms, has 500 reserved, and Greater Santo Domingo, with 2,900 rooms, has 1,000 reserved.

He added that the province of Santiago has 188 reserved rooms out of 786. The rest, which is in the south, small hotels and some Constanza, have 400 reserved rooms.

Recovery. On the recovery of tourism, Marranzini reiterated that as vaccination advances in the United States, its tourism sector would improve.
“I think that as they reach herd immunity, we will have an improvement,” he said.

According to information from authorities and real estate agents from different tourist destinations, the villas are 100% reserved in the northern and eastern areas of the country.
In the case of Samaná and Cabrera, a large number of the villas have been reserved since November of last year and are fully occupied.

The demand for villas and residences is so high in the Cabrera area that families have decided to spend Easter with relatives to rent theirs and generate extra income, said Elvyn Arnaud, KW / Premium Real Estate Advisor.

Last week the Minister of Tourism assured that March would end with some 230,000 tourists, the highest number of visits the country will have received after the start of the pandemic.

According to David Collado, this increase in the arrival of non-resident passengers to the country is due to how the Dominican Republic has handled the pandemic in the sector, which according to international organizations, has served as an example for the world.

Zoom

Growth
“The projections for tourism in the DR is of frank growth, sales and reservations put the DR with numbers equal to those of January 2018, which was the best tourism month in the history of our country,” David Collado expressed last week.

During the Easter holiday, some 38,000 police and military personnel will be deployed to protect the population. There will be about 25,582 policemen and more than 12,000 military personnel.

Vuelco: the largest hotel company in the Caribbean is already making profits

One in two AMResorts hotels has stopped losing money and are already making a profit in Mexico, according to Alex Zozaya, president of Apple Leisure Group (ALG), the hotel chain’s parent company.

“Mexico has been more successful than other destinations. Perhaps half of the portfolio of hotels that we have in the country are already making money, they are in black numbers, they have already made a profit,” he explained to the media during the ceremony of laying the first stone of his resort in Mazatlán.

The manager highlighted that the hotels have suffered from a lack of occupancy and low rates, and an increase in operating costs due to the implementation of health protocols.

Likewise, he explained that in AMResorts ‘all-inclusive’ establishments, direct costs are higher than in city hotels. Everything is prepaid, and restaurants cannot be closed, or services were withdrawn.

“The breakeven point in our hotels is higher. I think it depends on the rate, but it is challenging to earn money if we are below 50%. Now, after passing this point, the business also becomes more profitable,” explained Zozaya.

Finally, he acknowledged that despite the crisis, the chain had maintained its expansion and growth, closing 2020 with about 70 hotels and the forecast of reaching 104 this year.

“The crisis has given us an opportunity for greater growth in the number of hotels. Our history is one of crisis, AMResorts was born on August 1, 2001, 41 days before the tragedy of September 11, and it was precisely that crisis that catapulted growth.”

Music stars and Hollywood celebrities, fascinated with Miches

Artists and celebrities continue to be drawn to the Dominican Republic. Some of them have reserved and acquired properties in the flourishing tourism of the municipality of Miches, El Seibo province, where they have ordered luxury villa designs and attractive complexes.

Among the figures who have formalized purchases to be part of the ambitious projects that will arise in the paradisiacal environment, whose investment exceeds one billion dollars, are Shakira, Shawn Corey Carter, better known as Jay Z, husband and producer of Beyonce, and Vin Diesel.

Venezuelan businessman Gustavo Cisneros and local businessman George Nader are the pioneers in promoting Miches as a tourist attraction.

The businessmen revealed that the area would be a “nest of celebrities,” which has been visited by Brad Pitt, Julio Iglesias, and Ricardo Arjona, among others. It is not ruled out that some of them are also interested in investing in the destination.

Regarding investments, they explained that the region is projected as the most flourishing at present, it has just announced: 1,450 rooms, which will create 9 thousand jobs and in which artists, actors and businesspeople linked to cinema, television, the singing and world-famous sport, which in turn will attract other figures of similar stature and punch from the jet set.

Nader pointed out that in the case of Shakira and Jay Z, they have ordered designs on the majestic constructions that will be erected in the place, after handling contractual and legal aspects that guarantee their investment.

He assured that Miches had his time and that they have been working there for 18 years.

Investments include three luxury hotels, a housing plan, exclusive areas, and other investments by Grupo Tropicalia; of the businessmen, Juan Ramón Gomis and the new Moralta Group chaired by Frank Elías Rainieri. 

“As part of the strategy, although it has been working with intensity, the procedures and contacts have been carried out with great discretion so as not to affect the business,” said Nader, according to the local press.

The Dominican businessman cited the visit that former baseball star Alex Rodríguez made recently to learn about the property and the ambitious projects raised, taking advantage of the filming that Jennifer Lópezdoes in Dominican locations.

It is recalled that President Luis Abinader recently led a meeting in which he formalized an agreement between the public and private sectors to develop the Miches coastline, which includes an investment of more than one million dollars, to control and follow the strategy of the works that they propose to raise there.

The Bávaro-Punta Cana area is completely cordoned off with complexes, which is why Miches is positioned as the one with the greatest attraction and possibility of investment due to its potential in beaches, ecosystems, and other attractions.

Major League Baseball team announces new Dominican facility

Santo Domingo.- MLB.com on Tue. said that just a few weeks after general manager Mike Elias, who took the reins of the Baltimore Orioles’ baseball operations department in late 2018, plans to upgrade the team’s training facilities in the Dominican Republic began to hatch.

It said that given the increased importance such sites hold in attracting top Latin American talent, doing so jibed with Elias’ overall vision of committing the O’s to the market in ways they hadn’t in decades.

MLB said that vision is now closer to reality than ever. On Tuesday, the Orioles announced plans to develop a 22 1/2-acre state-of-the-art training academy in Guerra, Dominican Republic, a multimillion-dollar endeavor that represents their latest sizable investment in Latin America under Elias.

“The complex will house the club’s Dominican player-development operations, three full fields, a turfed agility field, batting and pitching tunnels and more, according to the team.”

Bahia Principe Golf’s Ocean´s 4 course becomes PGA Ocean´s 4

Santo Domingo, March 9, 2021 – PGA Ocean’s 4 is the second PGA of America affiliated course in Latin America and the third in the world outside the US, along with Mission Hills Golf & Resort and PGA Riviera Maya. In addition, it will be the official headquarters of the first Golf Academy of the renowned association in the Dominican Republic.

Encarna Piñero, Executive Vice President CEO of the Group, and Jesús Durán, CEO of Grupo Piñero in the Dominican Republic, presented the change of identity at a ceremony, after the company’s alliance with the Association of Professionals of Golf de América, formalized last January.

The course has 27 holes, 4 of them facing the Caribbean Sea, fully integrated into the landscape and managed in a sustainable way.

Grupo Piñero, a Spanish tourism company with more than 40 years of history, and its Bahia Principe Golf division continue to advance in their commitment to the American market after the agreement established last January with the prestigious Professional Golf Association of America (PGA of America). An alliance that is now materializing with the evolution of its Ocean’s 4 course, which is renamed PGA Ocean’s 4, located within the Playa Nueva Romana tourist resort, and has become the newest golf facility in Latin America affiliated with the PGA of America.

The change of identity is part of the evolution process of the company’s golf business, which manages four courses attached to its hotels and residential complexes, and also takes place in the creation of the first PGA Golf Academy in the Dominican Republic. Both owners, residents, and players will be able to enjoy innovative practices, development programs and exclusive educational content, as well as extraordinary instructors, in charge of providing an incomparable golf experience for all levels and from the hand of one of the most important sports organizations in the world.

Likewise, the impulse of this discipline reflects that, beyond being a sport, golf is understood as an instrument that actively contributes to the development of a region. For this reason, Grupo Piñero and its Bahia Principe Golf division, together with the PGA of America, are working together to promote the expansion of this sport.

Hotel and villa occupancy almost to the maximum for Easter

Santo Domingo.– Finding villas and apartments for Easter has become an odyssey for many national tourists, who have decided to travel to the interior of the country at the last minute.

According to the authorities and real estate agents in different tourist destinations, the villas are 100% reserved in the northern and eastern regions. The same happens with hotels, which have an occupancy of 50.5%, equivalent to almost 70% of the available rooms.

The authorities recall that due to sanitary measures, occupancy is only allowed up to 60% of the capacity. This is the largest occupation after the health crisis imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Villa reservations
In the case of Samaná and Cabrera, a large number of villas have been reserved since November 2020 and are fully occupied. The demand for villas and residences is so high in the Cabrera area that families have decided to spend Easter with relatives to rent theirs and thus generate an extra income, said real estate advisor Elvyn Arnaud, from KW/Premium.

Real estate tourism has been the spearhead in the case of Samanát, where it has saved the sector after the closure of all-inclusive hotels and the drop in international tourism, Senator Pedro Catrain explained. He highlighted that the search for a second residence by foreigners who now work remotely has also flourished.

The projects of apartments, villas, ecolodges, and boutique hotels have maintained a high occupancy, always applying the health and safety protocols recommended by the health and tourism authorities.

The same has happened in Puerto Plata, a destination that has 100% of the villas and residences rented, said Stephany Khoury, director of tourism for the north.

Hotel occupancy
Hotel occupancy for Easter will be around 50.5%, as estimated by the National Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores).

In the case of the East, occupancy exceeds between 60% and 70%. The Puerto Plata tourism director, Stephany Khoury, pointed out that they have reserved more than 50% of the available rooms and said they operate with a capacity greater than 80%.

The East Region Hotels and Tourism Projects Association (ASOLESTE) president, Ernesto Veloz, pointed out that the boom in real estate tourism needs to be regulated, since several people are dedicated to renting residences without any type of guarantee and security for tourists, which becomes unfair competition for businessmen and hoteliers, who are regulated and invest in security for tourists.

The number of public beaches and rivers allowed by the Civil Defense for use during Easter is 407.