Discover

Discover Puerto Plata Market Place 2013 Boosts Tourism in Puerto Plata; New Routes to the Destination Are Announced
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic 10/21/2013

New projects and businesses with international tour operators resulted from the second edition of the Discover Puerto Plata Market Place 2013 fair, which was held from October 16th to 18th at the Hotel Be Live Grand Marién in the Costa Dorada complex.

He called the event a great success, because several productive meetings were held in that framework, which resulted in the incorporation of the San Juan-Puerto Plata route in the programming of the Air Turks and Caicos airline, starting with three weekly flights …

“The participation of delegations from 17 destinations generated agreements with airlines from South America and Europe. Additionally, new business relationships with tour operators from Argentina, Colombia, Panama, and other developing markets in Latin America were established, with the purpose of attracting an increased flow of tourists to the North Shore,” said the Provincial Director of Tourism for Puerto Plata, Lorenzo Sancassani.

He called the event a great success, because several productive meetings were held in that framework, which resulted in the incorporation of the San Juan-Puerto Plata route in the programming of the Air Turks and Caicos airline, starting with three weekly flights on November 12th of this year. He added that the same airline intends to start a domestic flight with connection from Puerto Plata to Punta Cana.

The official also said that the French carrier Karavel-Promovacances is interested in incorporating a 747 weekly non-stop charter flight from Paris to Puerto Plata.

Sancassani also confirmed that in January, Air Andes will begin a route with a charter plane from Argentina.

He argued that there is great interest in the South American and European markets to visit Puerto Plata; thus, negotiations are underway to hold major international events that will host approximately between 20,000 and 25,000 people.

During the press conference that was held at the conclusion of the event, Sancassani, emphasized that “we have been working for years to calm things down in order to work in harmony and unity, and the results of these efforts are evident during this fair.”

He added that they are already working to promote Puerto Plata by holding the Discover POP Market Place 2013 and through the proposal of the Ministry of Tourism to promote the destination. However, he said, there are still changes to be made to improve the quality and service of the hotels.

Good attendance

The fair was well attended by the national and international press specialized in tourism, a total of 140 tour operators and 50 exhibitors; among them, there were complementary offers, distributors, and hotel companies from the destination.

“Last year, 50 tour operators and only 35 exhibitors attended the event. The measure of the success of this year’s event is the participation we had and the incorporation of new companies that want to reserve a space for next year,” said Jakaira Cid, in charge of the event’s protocol and Executive Director of the Puerto Plata Destination Tourism Cluster.

Discover POP Market Place 2013

Discover POP Market Place 2013 aims to strengthen trade relations with the traditional tour operators that promote Puerto Plata and to establish new connections with the purpose of expanding the scope of marketing.

The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and co-sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), AERODOM XXI Century, Brugal & Co, Hotel Be Live Grand Marién, Banco Popular Dominicano, Jet Blue, the Puerto Plata Chamber of Commerce and Production, Rescue Group, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and the province’s tourism sector.

Roberto Casoni, Jakaira Cid, Máximo Iglesias, Lorenzo Sancassani

Stand of the Puerto Plata Destination Tourism Cluster

Stand of Ocean World

Roberto Casoni and Lorenzo Sancassani during one of the meetings