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About Dominican Republic Travel - 25% of Caribbean-bound travelers picked the Dominican Republic as their vacation spot in 2007. In the first half of 2008, 2.2 million visitors vacationed in the Dominican Republic. Typically, Punta Cana was the destination of choice, and its airport received 53% of all arrivals to the country.
 Dominican Republic’s room inventory totals 62,000. This Dominican Republicamatic evolution is all part of a public-private strategy that invests 19 percent of all government appropriations to tourism.
No destination in the Caribbean has done more to grow and diversify its tourism product. Although the Dominican Republic’s efforts have delivered a mature destination, its evolution has only just begun. The Dominican Republic’s eastern shores opened the way to tourism several years ago, reaching the mass market with inexpensive, all-inclusive properties in the Punta Cana area.
Then came the high-end development at nearby Cap Cana, a destination overlooking a three-mile-long swathe of prime beach backed by a bluff of hills. It will soon be topped by a large Donald Trump project.
The Dominican Republic has pursued a diversity of products covering a broad span of price points. It’s also adding different experiential dimensions that extend the traditional beach holiday to include world-class golf, ecotourism and cultural tourism in its cities.
In April, Minister of Tourism Felix Jimenez announced plans to invest $1 billion in tourism infrastructure developments by 2012. Much of that investment will create roads that will transform the Dominican Republic from a narrow resort destination into one that can be explored on self Dominican Republicives.
A highway linking Santo Domingo and Samana opened in June, cutting travel time in half to two hours. The new highway places the booming Samana beach town of Las Terrenas just two hours from Santo Domingo. In addition, it passes by the popular tourist areas of Monte Plata, Bayaguana and Los Haitises National Park.
Punta Cana encompasses such resort areas as Cabeza de Toro, Bavaro, El Cortecito, Arena Gorda, Macao and Uvero Alto. Last March, the Punta Estada Golf Course hosted the Dominican Republic’s first PGA Tour Champions Tour, which was something of a coming-out celebration for a region that used golf as a catalyst to reach the luxury market.
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