by Brian Major
Last updated: 6:00 AM ET, Sun April 6, 2014
At last month's Dominican Annual Travel Exchange (DATE) conference, Steven Bradley, product manager for the Dominican Republic at MLT Vacations, which runs the Delta Vacations brand, detailed the tour operator's "explosive" growth with the country, already the Caribbean's leader in overnight visitors.
"We have seen very large growth into Punta Cana and the Dominican Republic in the last several years," said Bradley. "Delta Air Lines has recorded over 30 percent growth into the destination, especially Punta Cana. The growth has been driven by our New York and Atlanta gateways. Included in this growth has been an expansion of our specialty products, specifically destination weddings, honeymoons, and adult-only travel."
TravelPulse caught up with Bradley recently to discuss some of the factors behind the Dominican Republic's impressive tourism success.
TravelPulse: In your opinion, what are the elements that make Dominican Republic vacations so attractive to U.S. travelers?
Steven Bradley: The DR has it all: fantastic white-sand beaches, world-class hotels and a wide variety of excursions and culture to experience. The overall quality and value customers receive in the Dominican Republic is second to none. That's why it's so popular with our customers and has been growing so fast.
Worldwide, the Dominican Republic is in demand so we definitely recommend booking early, especially during peak travel times. Each destination in the Dominican Republic is different. Punta Cana and La Romana are great choices for beach vacations; Santo Domingo is perfect for historical/cultural exploration; and Samana is great place for whale-watching and more intimate cultural experiences.
TP: Are those the same factors that led Delta Air Lines to increase its service into the Dominican Republic?
SB: I can't speak for Delta Air Lines, but I can tell you that as we have aligned more closely with Delta, we are now more involved in the overall route planning process. As a result, their route planners have a clearer understanding of the leisure market, and of the capacity needed to meet a particular destination's demand.
Delta Air Lines offers multiple nonstop and connections from more than 240 cities in the United States and Canada into two of the most popular airports, Punta Cana and Santo Domingo.
TP: What programs has Delta Vacations launched to encourage the positive results in the Dominican Republic market?
SB: Just about a year ago, we added Samana to our list of Dominican destinations. It's not very well-known in the U.S. market, so it's an exciting option for travel professionals and their clients wanting to experience other regions of the DR.
As you know, we have increased our specialty programs, such as honeymoons and destination weddings, and have had outstanding growth in the Dominican Republic. For destination weddings, Delta Vacations provides customers with assistance every step of the way by securing their ceremony location, wedding time, and anything they may need while in-destination.
In fact, we offer a Friends and Family program for the wedding party that provides discounts for the attendees, as well as the wedding couple.
Another program that has produced superb results for Delta Vacations is the Luxury program. This provides customers with a high-touch personalized vacation experience for Delta Vacations customers. The Luxury program begins with first-class air travel, personal welcomes upon airport arrival, private nonstop airport transfers, a select group of luxury hotels with exclusive amenities, as well as 24-hour personal assistance throughout the planning and vacation stay.
TP: What role have U.S. travel agents played in expanding the Dominican Republic vacation market in these "boom" years?
SB: I think that over the past 10 to 15 years U.S. travel professionals have come to realize the tremendous value and opportunity the Dominican Republic holds for their clients and their businesses.
We continually invest in educating travel agent partners about what is new and successful in the Dominican Republic because they play such a huge part in our success. Along with numerous destination training trips to the Dominican Republic each year, we also focus heavily on the DR during our annual educational summit, MLT University, which attracts more than 2,000 travel professionals each year.
TP: What are the challenges to continued growth in the Dominican Republic vacation market?
SB: We definitely think the Dominican Republic is and will continue to be one of the top growth markets. The main challenges we see are hotel inventory constraints at popular-selling hotels, primarily in Punta Cana, during peak travel periods. As European, Canadian and South America markets continue to increase we could see a shortage of inventory for the U.S. market. Our recommendation to travel professionals is to book early for the greatest choice of hotels at the best prices.
TP: Which of the Dominican Republic's many recent government-led tourism infrastructure and investment programs are you most encouraged about?
SB: The Dominican Republic government is doing a great job continuing to improve the highway system throughout the country. Over the last few years they have finished the road from Santo Domingo to Samana, providing customers a short two-hour drive to that region.
The updated road between Punta Cana and La Romana and the road from La Romana to Santo Domingo has also recently been completed. It is now much easier and more comfortable for customers to get to and from tourism destinations and hotels throughout the country.
Also, the investment in Santo Domingo to revitalize the city is very exciting. Santo Domingo is a fantastic place to explore and offers so much history and cultural in one of the oldest cities in the Caribbean.
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