Operators say tourists are slowing

[NewsWhore]

International economic problems are threatening world tourism and local tourism activities. Tour operators, according to Listin Diario, estimate that fewer tourists are arriving from Europe and the United States, the principal tourist suppliers to the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, they indicate that up until now, there have been no massive cancellations of high season reservations. Elizabeth Tovar, director of the Association of Tourist Receiving Operators (Opetur), indicated that the recorded downturn has come from European tourism and in the case of the United States, the situation has been aggravated by a reduction in the number of flights from the US to the DR, especially by airlines like Delta and American. While she did not give specific figures, she did say that the situation seems to be a 5%-6% drop. Another executive, Linette Arbaje, the president of the Dominican Association of Tour Operators (Adotur), said that so far there have been no massive cancellations of reservations for the winter (high) season. She explained that tour packages are sold and prepaid a year in advance, and advised a "wait and see" approach for the coming season. Just last week, the World Tourism Organization executive board announced the creation of a "Committee to reactivate tourism" to support its members with solid economic analysis and strategies for dealing with the problems. An interesting comment by Tovar was that places like the Cayman Islands and Jamaica had national airlines and in the case of Jamaica, the government is subsidizing American Airlines so that it doesn't cut the number of flights going there. The Opetur executive said that the reduction in the number of flights takes the DR out of the marketplace. Arbaje said that in order to counteract the effects of the crisis, there was a need to prepare more attractive packages and develop markets that are out of the mainstream.

More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)