Posted Jan 19, 2010 by CristinaS Secrets Resorts & Spas, the luxury resort brand offering Unlimited-Luxury vacations for adults-only, announces the opening of Secrets Sanctuary Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic. The property becomes the award-winning brand's first resort outside of Mexico.

Secrets Sanctuary will be dedicated to providing guests the full Secrets Resorts & Spas experience offering an Unlimited-Luxury package for adults only. In order to allow for a smooth transition, Secrets Sanctuary will honor all existing reservations purchased with an EP status, but will offer these guests the option to upgrade to an Unlimited-Luxury experience. Furthermore, since existing reservations were made without an adults-only policy in place, we will accept existing reservations with children through Easter, Sunday April 4, 2010.

Located on the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic, the 175-suite, five-star luxury resort offers the largest selection of unique suite types of any hotel in Cap Cana. Ranging from 72 Ocean View Junior Suites to the cozy 600 sq. ft. Castle Suite and the grand 5,550 sq. ft. Island Suite situated on its own impressive private island, Secrets Sanctuary will treat every guest to a consummate Unlimited-Luxury vacation experience.
The resort's distinctive Spanish-Colonial design, breathtaking ocean views and majestic beachfront grounds - complete with eye-catching fountains and lush gardens - create the ideal setting for leisure and incentive travelers. Guests will also be treated to all the distinctive attributes they expect from a Secrets Resort & Spa:

- Beautifully appointed rooms and suites offer stunning views of the ocean, shimmering pools or manicured gardens; private balconies; Jacuzzi tubs; plunge pools; and dozens of other luxury conveniences such as amenities by Gilchrist and Soames, in-suite climate control, plasma TV, high-speed internet and more.
- Five international restaurants serving gourmet fare and five comfortable bars and lounges serving premium brand beverages.
- A spectacular array of day and evening activities
- Tee time access at two Jack Nicklaus designed golf courses, Punta Espada and Las Iguanas
- A world-class Spa treating guests to an ocean view Jacuzzi, plunge pool and lavish treatments
- Fitness center complete with cardiovascular and weight-training equipment, as well as free weights
- 24-hour room and concierge services
- Competitive vacation promotions, complimentary destination wedding and honeymoon packages and offers
- Access to the Caleton Beach Club, which features a swimming pool and swim-up bar, expansive palm-studded beach and two additional dining options
- On-site 18,279 square-foot Convention Center with enough space to host large events or small groups
- Nearby excursion sites for golf, shopping, tours
- On-site casino featuring Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Caribbean Poker, Baccarat, slots and electronic games within a unique Caribbean setting

In addition to offering the utmost comfort in luxurious and spacious accommodations, guests have a plethora of activities and scenic wonders just outside their door. Cap Cana is home to what will soon be the largest in-land mega yacht marina in the Caribbean, two Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses and spectacular beaches. The renowned destination features a variety of elegant boutiques and restaurants, tennis and swimming facilities, deep-sea fishing, polo grounds, a casino and more. Posted Oct 27, 2009 by OlgaM Representatives of the Dominican business sector and the Ministry of Tourism will attempt to the International French Travel Market, to be held in Paris from September 22-25, 2009. The Dominican Minister of Tourism, Francisco Javier Garcia, and the President of the National Hotels and Restaurants Association of Dominican Republic, Haydee Rainieri, representing the private sector, led a numerous delegation of private and public sector representatives to this important tourism fair. They were joined in Paris by Mercedes Castillo, the director of the Tourism Office of the Dominican Republic in Paris.

In the last few years France has become one of the most important European markets for Dominican tourism. Last year, it occupied the third place in the number of tourists traveling to the Dominican Republic. Some 279,408 tourists, representing eight percent of all international travelers arriving in the country, visited the Dominican Republic.

During the first seven months of this year 168,000 French tourists - representing 23% of all European tourists and 7.6% of all visiting tourists - visited the country. The Dominican delegation organized three important events for the fair. The first event is a full week of Dominican Gastronomy. The event was held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris from September 16-18. The other two events are a workshop at the Eiffel Tower, plus a 200 square meter exhibit at the International
French Travel Market, from September 22-25.

The Eiffel Tower event will take place on September 21. Participants will also include Sanctuary Cap Cana Hotel, Viva Wyndham Resort, Occidental Hotels and Resort, Connect Travel Services, Casa de Campo, El Caballo Tours, Ect Events and Meeting, Meli Caribe Tropical, Colonial Tours and Travel, Hotel Beds, Majestic and Turmaya. The Mercedes Castillo event is co-sponsored by Air France. Posted Oct 27, 2009 by OlgaM The Tourism Ministry announced that it will begin construction of the Maria Montez Coastal Park, an area that will connect the southwestern city of Barahona with the surrounding pristine mountains. The project will also include a cargo and cruise ship port. The Coastal Park is named after the famous Dominican actress, a hometown girl who gained fame and popularity in Hollywood in the 1940s as an exotic beauty. Maria Montez starred in a series of adventure films in Hollywood.
This coastal city also named its international airport after the famous actress. The airport has a 2.565 square-meter terminal and a three thousand meters long and 45 meters wide runway, with full capacity to handle wide-body aircraft.

The Dominican government recently decided to offer a one-year tax exemption to all international airlines that decide to use the Maria Montez International Airport. Furthermore, the Tourism Ministry invested $13.8 million repairing access roads to the Bavaro region, one of the country's most
important tourism regions situated in the country's southeast corner.

The Bavaro-Punta Cana region offers thirty thousand rooms and receives an average of 1.8 million tourists annually. As of August of this year, this number had reached 1.4 million tourists. Posted Oct 27, 2009 by OlgaM British Airways will begin flights to Punta Cana's International Airport,in the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic, starting Monday October 26.The British airliner will run two regular weekly flights to the Dominican Republic on Thursdays and Saturdays, and could increase to three during the winter months,upon demand.

Flights will leave from Gatwick (LGW),London, to Punta Cana (PUJ), with a stopover on the island of Antigua (ANV). The route back to London will be the same. The flight is scheduled to arrive at Punta Cana at 18.55, and depart at 20:25. The airliner will use a Boeing B-777-200-ER (Extended Range) aircraft, featuring three cabins: Club World (First), World Traveler Plus (Business) and World Traveler Embodiment (Economy). The Boeing B-777 is the world's largest twin-engine aircraft. It is popularly known as the "Triple Seven". It is equipped to carry from 301 to 368 passengers.

In the past five years (2004-2008) almost a million tourists from England have visited the Dominican Republic by air. Of these, 323,683 visited Punta Cana which, in the last three years, has seen a growing number of tourists from this particular market. In 2006, 31% (64,606) of all tourists traveling
to the Dominican Republic originated in England. In 2007 that number registered at 11% in 2007 (71,717) and 12% in 2008 for a total of 80,635. The most popular destination in the Dominican Tourism market is Puerto Plata, which in recent years has received over one-hundred thousand visitors annually. In the period from January to August 2009, Dominican airports received 126,000
tourists from England. In 2004, that number registered at 196,000, while in 2005 that number jumped to 215,000. Another 237,000 visited in 2006, 217,000 in 2007 and 206,000 in 2008.

In 2007, Punta Cana International Airport received a total of 1.7 million tourists. In 2008 that number reached 1.8 million. For 2009, projections indicate that some two million tourists will visit the country using this airport facility. Posted Aug 25, 2009 by Elite News Team Punta Espada Golf Course is just the first of 3 signature Jack Nicklaus golf courses to grace Cap Cana. Opened in November 2006 this first course was recently recognized by Golf Digest in its "100 Best Courses outside the United States" Rankings. With 8 holes along the sea and 18 holes overlooking it.