“The year in the Dominican Republic kicks off with a full schedule of exciting events, including Carnival time, whale watching, our annual cigar lovers’ event, and the international book fair,” Sonja Rogers, Marketing Executive with the Dominican Republic Tourist Board in London, told Irish Travel Trade News on a recent visit to Dublin.
“Every year the Dominican cities of La Vega and Santiago celebrate Carnival every Sunday during the month of February, while the Punta Cana Carnival is scheduled for 9th March. La Vega, situated 1.5 hours north of Santo Domingo, is by far the most popular Carnival destination.
“Our annual whale watching season ends in March 2014, with hundreds of humpback whales travelling from afar to the warm waters of the Bay of Samana to mate and give birth. Samana Bay now appears on the exclusive list of the world’s most beautiful bays and thousands of national and international visitors visit the north coast city of Samana to watch the whales.
“Date 2014, the tourism fair organised by the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic, will be held at the Paradisus Punta Cana Convention Centre from 26th – 28th March. The event is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, and annually brings in international tour operators, travel agencies and other tourism-related industries.
“We have an online training programme for travel agents and we will also be visiting Dubin and Cork in the autumn with training workshops.”
Extra Flights
British Airways increased services from London Gatwick to Punta Cana with the introduction of a third flight from 1st November 2013. Thomson and First Choice are adding direct weekly Dreamliner flights from Glasgow to Punta Cana from 1st May and will run throughout the summer season. Air Europa also started weekly flights from London Gatwick to La Romana’s, Casa de Campo International Airport from 16th December 2013.
