Hotel news, upcoming events, infrastructure upgrades, 2006 visitor numbers and more
- Sivory Punta Cana makes “top ten best new hotels for romance” list
- Dominican Carnival attracts global visitors to La Vega and Santiago
- DR to host beach volleyball tournament
- Samana/Santo Domingo highway to be completed by December
- Heliport serving VIP travellers to be constructed in Santo Domingo
- US students, instructors and architects build new entrance to Pomier Caves
- Dominican Republic to host 2008 Caribbean Baseball Series
- Donald Trump to invest $2 million in Cap Cana development
- DR reports impressive 2006 visitor numbers
SIVORY PUNTA CANA MAKES “TOP TEN BEST NEW HOTELS FOR ROMANCE” LIST
About.com recently named Sivory, a boutique hotel located in Punta Cana, one of the “top 10 best hotels for romance in 2007.” Sivory is also a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World and made Condé Nast Traveler’s 2006 Hot List. For reservations call (809) 552-0500 or e-mail reservations@ sivorypuntacana.com.
DOMINICAN CARNIVAL ATTRACTS GLOBAL VISITORS TO LA VEGA AND SANTIAGO
Each year tourism to the DR’s La Vega and Santiago spikes as global visitors head to the cities for Dominican Carnival, a colourful celebration of the country’s independence from Spain. Revellers visit the country’s central-region cities and participate in Carnival’s unique parades each Sunday of the month, featuring hand-made eccentric masks, Dominican cuisine and of course, drink. For more information visit www.dr1.com/articles/masks.shtml.
DR TO HOST BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
The DR was chosen as the first stop for the 2007 Norceca Men’s and Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament. The tournament will be held in Boca Chica in the DR’s south-central region April 6-8 and will feature competitors from North and Central America as well as the Caribbean. Other stops for the tournament include Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Trinidad & Tobago. Norceca has 35 member countries and is responsible for the staging of Olympic and World Championship qualification tournaments.
SAMANA/SANTO DOMINGO HIGHWAY TO BE COMPLETED BY DECEMBER
The DR’s public works minister recently announced that the highway linking Samana and Santo Domingo will be completed by December 2007. Once completed, the highway will reduce driving time from Santo Domingo to Samana to two hours. The highway is in addition to the new El Catey International Airport, another major development to the DR’s northeast region (flights from the US into El Catey have yet to be announced).
HELIPORT SERVING VIP TRAVELLERS TO BE CONSTUCTED IN SANTO DOMINGO
Santo Domingo’s mayor, Roberto Salcedo, recently announced plans to set aside land near the city’s Abraham Lincoln Ave for construction of a new heliport. The heliport, which is being constructed on behalf of the private sector, will serve VIP travellers to Santo Domingo. As part of the improvements planned for the Santo Domingo Malecon, the project’s opening date has not yet been announced.
US STUDENTS, INSTRUCTORS AND ARCHITECTS BUILD NEW ENTRANCE TO POMIER CAVES
The Pomier Caves, located in San Cristobal about one hour west of Santo Domingo, boasts a new entrance thanks to a design team comprised of students, instructors and architects from the United States. The team was formed on behalf of Yestermorrow Design/Build School, based out of Vermont. The school organized the January trip for its architecture students and included 17 days of construction and sightseeing of the DR’s south-central region.
The Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve in the DR was selected for the protection of its subterranean ecosystem. It is the Caribbean’s most important pre-Columbian site, featuring approximately 6000 pictographs and 500 petroglyphs. The caves are so significant that UNESCO has called for their application for World Heritage status. For additional information about the Pomier Caves project visit www.4tdomrep.com/yestermorrow2007.html.
DR TO HOST 2008 CARIBBEAN BASEBALL SERIES
Following the DR’s seventh win of the Caribbean Baseball Series it was announced that next year’s tournament will take place in either Santiago in the central region or Santo Domingo, the DR’s capital city located in the south-central area. Represented by the Santiago-based Aguilas Cibaenas, the Dominican team finished this year’s series with a winning 5-1 record, defeating Mexico twice, Venezuela twice and Puerto Rico once.
DONALD TRUMP TO INVEST $2 MILLION IN CAP CANA DEVELOPMENT
Donald Trump recently announced plans to invest $2 million in a luxury resort development to be located within Cap Cana, a mega-resort complex in Punta Cana. Named Trump at Cap Cana, the project will consist of a golf course, villas, beach club, condo-hotel and private residences. The first completed stage (date yet to be announced) will be a gated community of 68 luxury residences (with at least 1.5 acres each) called Trump Farallon Estates at Cap Cana. The homes will sit 200 feet above sea level allowing for spectacular views of Cap Cana and the Caribbean Sea. Estate owners will have memberships to a variety of clubs and amenities within the 30,000 acre Cap Cana, such as the beach club, golf course, marina and more. For more information call 1-800-785-2198 (US) or 1-809-955-9501 (rest of the world).
DR REPORTS IMPRESSIVE 2006 VISITOR NUMBERS
According to a recent report issued by the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism, foreign arrivals increased by 16 per cent in 2006 with 4.4 million guests choosing the Dominican Republic as their top vacation spot. In addition, the number of visitors from the US remained steady, with more than one million for the second consecutive year. The Dominican Republic was also named the “Caribbean’s Number One Destination” in 2006, a title given by the World Tourism Organization and one that was owned by Puerto Rico for the last 40 years. Furthermore, North American arrivals to the Dominican Republic exceeded those from Europe for the second successive year.
Visit www.caribbean.com for your free on-line Dominican Republic travel guide.
Disclaimer: The information in this article/release was accurate at
press time; however, we suggest you confirm all details and prices
directly with vendors.
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