Dominican Republic Is All the Rage, Says Slogan of DATE 2004
Under a motto reading “The Dominican Republic Is All The Rage,” the 2004 DATE, the annual tourist meeting, will get underway from April 28 to 30 at the Plaza Playa Dorada Commercial Center in Puerto Plata. Members of the local National Hotel & Restaurant Association (ASONAHORES) and the Council for Tourist Promotion (CTP) are confident this year’s turnout will go the 2003 edition one better by a long haul.
ASONAHORES President Jimmy Bernal and his CTP counterpart Enrique De Marchena Kaluche disclosed the details about the upcoming fair during a press conference held at the headquarters of the hotel guild.
Among the purchasers that have so far confirmed their attendance or shown interest in taking part in the 2004 DATE, there are some major wholesalers, especially from North America, “where the country is definitely in vogue right now,” organizers said.
Five years after its first edition, DATE has become a business marketplace for commercial contacts between suppliers and purchasers of tourist products and services in the Dominican Republic. The event is intended to open up the country’s gates to inflows of travelers over the next twelve months.
According to information provided by organizers of the 2004 DATE, last year’s edition –held at the Bavaro Conference Center with the presence of Dominican President Hipolito Mejias- set new record highs in terms of negotiations as little more than 350 local and international providers and buyers, together with 35 publishers, journalists and representatives of some of the most prestigious publications specialized in the travel industry from the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and South America showed up for the event.
Lisette Fernandez Brugal, executive director of the 2004 DATE, warned there’s a deadline for inscriptions –now close to expiring- and called on potential participants to hand in their application forms as soon as possible at the ASONAHORES and CTP offices, or to click on http://www.drdate.net, the event’s official website.
