By the Caribbean Journal staff

Fresh off the news of rival American Airlines’ huge Caribbean expansion, JetBlue has added another new nonstop route to the region.

JetBlue has officially launched its newest daily nonstop flights, connecting Newark, New Jersey and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

The move strengthens JetBlue’s position as the leading carrier to the Dominican Republic —indeed, the carrier operates more daily flights to the country than any other airline.

Santo Domingo.

It’s also another boost for what has become an important new destination for the Dominican Republic as it looks to expand tourism hubs beyond Punta Cana, part of a wider push to reach 10 million annual tourists by the year 2023.

El Embajador.

Santo Domingo has become a hot urban destination, with existing hotels like the JW Marriott and the recently transformed El Embajador, and a fascinating Colonial Zone that has become a full-fledged destination in its own right.

The Colonial Zone.

JetBlue now operates four routes to the Caribbean out of Newark, including to Santiago, San Juan and Barbados.

JetBlue serves Dominican airports including La Romana, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Santiago and Santo Domingo.

The carrier is operating the new Santo Domingo flights on Airbus A320 aircraft with 150 seats.