Dominican Tourism Minister Broaches Charter Flights from Russia

Dominican Tourism minister Felix Jimenez stated last week that the Russian and Ukrainian outbound markets have doubled over the past twelve months. By August 2006, over 24,000 tourists from Eastern Europe have already visited the Caribbean country.

Mr. Jimenez met with tourism representatives from Russia and from important tour operators and airlines during a visit he paid to Russia in an effort to lure that fledgling outbound market.

Both delegations tackled the possibility of establishing a year-round charter that would travel from Moscow/Punta Cana/Moscow. Right now, the charter is limited to the high-peak travel season.

Sources close to the negotiations revealed there are also other plans in the pipeline to launch charter flights to Puerto Plata as of next year and explore other travel destinations within the country, especially the northern shoreline.

According to Mr. Jimenez, Russian airline TRANSAERO might be interested in using the Dominican Republic as a hub to hook up with other South America-bound routes, mainly those serving Argentina and Brazil.