American Airlines, in coordination with the Office of Tourism Promotion (OPT) in Orlando, Florida, inaugurated a new direct route from Austin, Texas to the Punta Cana airport, to reinforce the arrival of more tourists to the Dominican Republic.
The opening of the new route represents an opportunity to attract more tourists from the Southwest of the United States, the main outbound market to the Caribbean country, and will serve as a connection to other North American cities.
The visitors arrived on flight AA-557, in a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with a capacity of 172 passengers. This direct route will operate with four weekly frequencies on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
“American Airlines believes in the Dominican Republic, especially in Punta Cana, one of the most important tourist destinations in the region,” said Oliver Bojos, general manager of the airline in the country.
He said that the new flight is part of a growth towards the Caribbean region, and of the expansion strategy from Austin, Texas, to the most visited destination.
Meanwhile, the Vice Minister of Tourism, Roberto Henríquez, said that the flight means more tourists for the country, and thus, meet the expectations for the year 2021, according to a press release.
He also indicated that in the month of October, the Dominican Republic received 443,018 non-resident visitors, of which 48% entered through the Punta Cana airport and 29% are of U.S. nationality.
“Our country, as announced by Minister David Collado, has done everything possible to see these achievements and today we are enjoying them,” he said.
In addition to Deputy Minister Henriquez, authorities from the Punta Cana airport, the Specialized Airport Security Corps (Cesac) and Jade Stefany, in charge of airports for Mitur, were present.
