Santo Domingo.- Samaná’s Boulevard Turístico del Atlántico (Atlantic Tourist Boulevard) will lead to a significant increase in flight frequencies to Juan Bosch International Airport (El Catey).

Elsa De León Tool, deputy Tourism minister for the province of Samaná, predicts that this new highway will increase internal tourism and hotel occupancy and will bring the region closer to the capital and to Las Americas International Airport.

She said that the road would give El Catey airport the boost it needs, because it hasn’t met initial expectations due to the current poor state of the roads. It will also make it easier for tour operators to sell Samaná because its remoteness has always put it at a disadvantage despite being such an attractive destination.

Hotels would also increase their profits once they don’t have to absorb the cost of transferring passengers from Las Americas Airport. Both large and small businesses in the area will be able to increase their service capacity, said De León.

Other direct beneficiaries would be the transport companies, which spend a lot of money on spare parts and tires due to the current state of the roads.

The deputy minister says that despite the fact that Samaná is a paradise on earth due to its natural beauty, road access in some areas is almost completely nonexistent. For this reason, tour operators prefer to send their clients to the eastern region.

The Boulevard Turístico del Atlántico has been awarded international recognition as the best financed project of the year, as the first project being financed by four multilateral agencies - the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and French financial entity Proparco.