News From DATE: Dominican Republic to Add Nine Offices

Barcelo

PUNTA CANA, Dominican RepublicTravel Agent was on hand at the Barcelo Bavaro Convention Center this week for coverage of the 10th annual Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange in Punta Cana. Perhaps the biggest news of the event came from Francisco Javier Garcia, the Dominican Republic’s new tourism minister. According to Garcia, the Dominican Republic would beef up its promotions in the U.S. with the addition of nine more tourist offices around the country. At the moment, it has active offices in New York, Miami and Chicago. No specific timeline or additional information was available at press time. The event kicked off on Sunday night and wrapped up on Wednesday. Preliminary numbers show roughly 270 suppliers and buyers attended this year’s event, which is a slight drop from last year’s. Stay tuned as Travel Agent continues its coverage of DATE, including property profiles of the new Barcelo Bavaro Palace Junior Suites Deluxe, where Travel Agent stayed; the new Iberostar Grand Hotel Bavaro and the Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real, where the closing ceremonies took place.