Above: Punta Cana (CJ Photo)
By Alexander Britell
PUNTA CANA — The largest tourism conference in the Caribbean’s most popular destination is now underway.
DATE, the Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange, officially launched its 2015 edition on Tuesday night with a ceremony at the Barcelo Bavaro Resort in the tourism hub of Punta Cana.
The conference is put on each year by ASONAHORES, the Dominican Republic’s hotel and tourism association.
From April 28 to April 30, wholesalers, tour operators, airlines, charters and media are gathering to meet and conduct business with the country’s top tourism suppliers.
This year’s event comes after the country saw a total of 5,141,377 stayover visitors, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
That was a 9.6 percent improvement over the previous year and one of the largest increases of any destination in 2014.
The country has set out a stated goal of attracting 10 million annual visitors by 2023.