Staff writer Denise Mota
Brazilians have just discovered the Dominican Republic and, more than anything else, Punta Cana. According to information from the Dominican Central Bank, the amount of tourists coming from Brazil this year has grown to more than 130.8% in comparison to what was registered to Brazilians movement in the country during the same period of 2010.
Punta Cana is the apple of their eyes: most travelers, when they get off the plane, end up bewitched by this Dominican paradise made of turquoise waters.
Only in October, the Brazilian influx to the country arose 149% in relation to the same month last year. According to estimates from Dominican Republic Tourism Bureau in São Paulo, provided to CaribDirect, the Caribbean country may end up in 2011 with a total of at least 62,000 visitors from Brazil. These numbers make Brazil nowadays the fastest growing country in terms of tourist increment to the territory, says Mauricio Vianna, director of the Dominican office. Brazilians also have been changing tourism statistics in other destinations of the zone (read more in: “Brazilians double in Caribbean Meliá hotels”).
Beyond its breathtaking landscape, among other strong points of Punta Cana –elements that are responsible for its breakthrough as one of Brazilians’ dream refuge of the moment– are its infrastructure, huge and sophisticated, with more than 50 resorts (filled up with restaurants, entertainment options –rolled by local salsa and merengue—and outdoor activities that suits a wide, heterogeneous public, from golf to diving), the capacity for offering people with different purposes the same level of comfort (be they globetrotters or huge families) and its prices, not higher than those found in the Brazilian Northeast coast.
The beautiful Punta Cana
The increase of flights to the region is another factor that stimulates the growth of tourism. Air companies are flying to the Dominican Republic leaving from not only essential capitals (like Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and Belo Horizonte) but also cities located in different parts of the country, such as Porto Alegre (in the South) and Manaus (in the North of Brazil).
| Brazilians double in Caribbean Meliá hotels |
| The sum of Brazilian visitors at Meliá hotels in Central America and Caribbean has increased 100% this year, in relation to 2010. The estimation comes from Juergen Stuetz, vice president of corporate sales of the group in the Americas. According to information given by the company to CaribDirect, Punta Cana represents a major part of the growth which is being detected by the chain. |
The company states to have expectations that this movement gets even bigger in the near future, on account of two new resorts being opened in the region. Founded in 1956, in Spain, the chain has more than 350 hotels in 35 countries on four continents. Read Portuguese version here
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