Dominican tourism authorities signed four agreements with an equal number of airlines, which dominate the flow of passengers from Canada to the Caribbean, to increase the number of seats available on their flights by 15-20%.
The agreements were signed between the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, and representatives of the airlines Air Transat, Air Canada, Sunwing Airlines, and WestJet during the Trade Show Miami 2024, a tourism exhibition fair held by Mitur in Miami at the JW Marriot Marquis Hotel.
“When we make these agreements, we ask the airlines to add more seats to the Dominican Republic, and they can tell you. And if I run out of seats, well, we tell them that Dominican will back you up if that happens. But the seats are filling up, and the demand is growing. That is why Canada is an extremely important market for our country,” said the minister.
Collado also signed an agreement with Voyage en Direct, an online travel agency based in Quebec, Canada. It offers a variety of travel and tourism-related services, including booking flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, car rentals, and tourist activities.
He explained that in 2023, 1.1 million tourists arrived in the country from Canada, and he expects that after these agreements, the figure will increase to more than 1.25 million Canadians in 2024.
He indicated that, for this reason, the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) is seeking to consolidate this market and is strengthening all agreements with airlines, travel agencies, and tour operators.
Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec. According to Hoy, the new 2024 agreement estimates a projection of 500,000 passengers.
Agency agreements
Other agreements were with Expedia, a global online travel company offering a wide range of planning services; Signature Travel Network, a network of luxury travel agencies operating globally; Internova Travel Group, a travel agency, and tourism-related service provider; and Virtuoso Travel, a network of luxury travel agencies and high-end tourism service providers worldwide.
In addition, agreements were signed with Despega Travel Agency, a leading online travel company in Latin America; Price Travel, an online travel agency and tour operator based in Mexico; El Corte Inglés, which is known for providing customer service in the travel industry; WestJet, a low-cost airline based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and JetBlue, a U.S. airline focused on offering affordable fares.
At the beginning of the negotiations, Collado said that more than 30 agreements were signed through 1,100 meetings scheduled and held between representatives of 70 Dominican companies, considered the most significant tourism operation ever in Florida.
Hundreds of tour operators from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and other Latin American countries participated in the event, which has become an attraction for those involved in the tourism sector.