Dominican Republic surpasses Mexico in travel bookings for the first four months of 2024 David Collado, Minister of Tourism, announced that the Dominican Republic had surpassed Mexico and other Latin American countries in airline ticket bookings for the first four months of 2024 compared to 2023. This is based on data provided by the Forwardkeys platform, which includes information on travel ticket reservations for all airports and airlines worldwide. Collado noted that for January, February, March, and April, the Caribbean country is ahead of Mexico, considered the most visited in the region, as well as Jamaica, Bahamas, and Cuba. “For January the country presents a 6.6% growth in bookings, while Mexico has a 0.3%. Likewise, Jamaica has -44.1%, Bahamas 1.3% and Cuba -14.0% compared to the previous year,” according to statistics projected by the minister. He indicated that “in February, bookings for the Dominican Republic grew by 13%, while in Mexico [...]

Cozumel collects over 7.5 tons of sargassum from west coast Cozumel has begun their sargassum season a little early with its arrival due to strong winds. Municipal officials have already begun a collection of the unwanted seaweed from the west side of the island. Strong winds from the recent passing of cold front 32 pushed the sargassum toward land, covering a section of the island’s west coast. “Given the atypical sargassum arrival along the western part of the island due to the effects of cold front No. 32, the municipal government continues working to clear the sea wall of marine material accumulated on the coast,” the Director of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) Milton Zavala Aradillas reported. Crews cleared the seawall of sargassum that arrived due to the strong winds, waves and change in sea currents on the west side of the island, he said. Workers from Zofemat, women from [...]

Goals and gains: Cuba Tourist Board   In this week’s edition of Take Five, we sit down with Lessner Gomez, Director of The Cuba Tourist Board, Toronto, to discuss the goals set for 2024, air capacity from Canada, and key events that travel agents should mark in their calendars.   1.The Cuba Tourist Board set a goal to reach one million Canadian visitors in 2023. Did you reach it? And what goals have you set for 2024? “We set the goal of one million Canadian visitors in 2023 and we knew it was an aggressive goal. Despite being a very challenging year, we came close with 936,436 arrivals from Canada. This represented a 176% growth year-over-year and Canadian count for 38% of the total arrivals in Cuba worldwide. The goal for 2024 is set at 1.2 million visitors from Canada.” Havana 2. Can you tell us about air capacity in 2024?  “The [...]

Grupo Puntacana Announces New Ultra-Luxury Hotel Project at Playa Serena During the 44th edition of the International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR 2024), held in Madrid, Spain, Grupo Puntacana announced the development of its next hotel project in Playa Serena Puntacana Resort, a unique proposal in ultra-luxury tourism. The Playa Serena hotel will be a project where nature meets luxury and exclusivity. It will have capacity for 160 guests, 75 suites, 5 overwater villas, 1 beach club, 3 restaurants, 1 themed restaurant, 1 beach restaurant, 4 bars and 8 spa bungalows. It is projected to open in 2026. The announcement was made by Grupo Puntacana executives Frank Elías Rainieri, CEO; Paola Rainieri, Chief Marketing Officer; and Francesca Rainieri, Chief Financial Officer; accompanied by Frank Rainieri, founder and Chairman of the Board of Grupo Puntacana; and Haydée Rainieri, member of the Board of Grupo Puntacana. “The Playa Serena hotel will elevate the hospitality experience at Puntacana Resort. [...]

International Tourism to Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2024 Photo: Pixabay Following a strong 2023, international tourism is well on track to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. According to the first UNWTO World Tourism Barometer of the year, international tourism ended 2023 at 88% of pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 1.3 billion international arrivals. The unleashing of remaining pent-up demand, increased air connectivity, and a stronger recovery of Asian markets and destinations, are expected to underpin a full recovery by the end of 2024. Middle East, Europe and Africa performed strongest in 2023 The latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer provides a comprehensive overview of the sector's performance in 2023, tracking recovery by global region, sub-region and destination. Key takeaways include: The Middle East led recovery in relative terms as the only region to overcome pre-pandemic levels with arrivals 22% above 2019. Europe, the world's most visited region, reached 94% [...]