Fewer flights = lower income

[NewsWhore]

The effect of the recent reduction in the number of flights forthcoming from the United States starting September has generated "collective alarm" in the tourism and export sectors. Many representatives of the most affected sectors are waiting for a meeting of the Civil Aviation Board to discuss matters. The most affected sectors are tourism, but not just vacationers, but also people who come here to buy real estate, expatriates and exporters of time sensitive products or products that have strict deadlines. Added to this is the section of the Dominican population that can afford to vacation outside of the country. Faced with higher and higher fuel prices, American, Delta, and US Airways have announced they would reduce the frequency of their services to the Dominican Republic. A spokeswoman for the Dominican Association of Travel Agents, Linette Arbaje, said that the Dominican government should try to align itself with countries with national airlines, such as Colombia, Venezuela or Chile. Arbaje also complained about the fact that the Dominican Republic, as the largest receptor of tourism in the region does not have a national airline. The head of the National Council on Competitiveness, Andres Van der Horst Alvarez, told El Caribe reporter Hector Linares that the real pinch would come in September when vegetable exports enter their peak season. The government reported that 1.2 million passengers arrived in the DR aboard charter flights in 2007, and an additional 3.33 million aboard commercial flights.

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