British Airways Begins Direct Flights between DR and England

Monday’s British Airways flight number 2157 officially kicked off the new direct service between Punta Cana and London which will be available two days per week. The faster service comes with greater convenience for travelers.

“This signals how the country’s tourism policy has been accepted and that we are moving to a different level of tourism, tourism that reaches a higher economic level and buying power…”

Airline executives, business people and representatives from the tourism sector displayed their satisfaction with this new, non-stop route connecting the two countries, according to a press release from the Office of Press and Communication of the Tourism Ministry (SECTUR).

Dominican Ambassador in England, Aníbal de Castro, who was on the maiden flight, said the initiation of these flights are of great importance for the DR because they show that Dominican tourism is becoming consolidated more and more each day. He also said they also represent an expression of confidence in the DR’s economic perspectives.

“This signals how the country’s tourism policy has been accepted and that we are moving to a different level of tourism, tourism that reaches a higher economic level and buying power while, at the same time, not ignoring the other traditional areas of the country. The fact that British Airways flies to this country also shows that our perspectives as an important business center are also growing,” said the Dominican Ambassador to England.

He highlighted the support extended by the Ministry of Tourism to British Airway in order to begin their operations, such as the promotional work done in Europe and specifically in Great Britain where the World Travel Market 2009 is about to get underway in London.

Mr. de Castro noted that the DR annually receives some 250,000 tourists from the United Kingdom which, it is hoped, will increase considerably with the direct flights. This new service will also make the Dominican Republic the only Spanish-speaking country in the Caribbean that has direct flights from London on British Air.

Virgilio Cedano, Deputy Minister of Tourism for Higüey-Bávaro-Punta Cana, thanked British Air executives in the name of the Tourism Minister, Francisco Javier García, for having incorporated the DR into its twice-weekly flights to the Caribbean region.

He praised the work done by British Air, the Punta Cana Group and the Ministry of Tourism for making this direct flight a reality.

Those present at the event celebrating the British Air flights to the DR included, among others, Aníbal de Castro, Dominican Ambassador to the UK; Punta Cana Group President Frank Rainieri; Haydée Kuret de Rainieri, President of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (ASONAHORES) and British Air executives from Latin America and the Caribbean.