The event will be sponsored by the Santo Domingo Yacht Club. More information can be found at http://www.iltta.org.

The magazine evaluated more than 200 beach resorts in the U.S. and the Caribbean, based on room rates and other costs, quality of children’s programs, variety of family activities, pool and beach area and other factors. The May issue of Parents lists the 10 resorts deemed best.

“Our winners are practically rolling out the red carpet for families on a tight budget,” said Sally Lee, editor in chief of Parents.

The resorts that made Parents’ list offer seven-night vacations, May through September, for prices ranging from $129 a night to $500 a night (for an all-inclusive with meals and activities covered), with most falling under $250 nightly.

The resorts are Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya, Bahamas; Club Med Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; South Seas Island Resort, Captiva Island, Fla.; Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas; Disney’s Vero Beach Resort in Florida; Beaches Negril Resort and Spa, Jamaica; Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii; Ocean Edge Resort & Spa, Brewster, Mass.; Loew’s Coronado Bay Beach Resort & Spa, San Diego; and Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort Casino & Spa, in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Source: DominicanToday.com

The organizations will provide US$6.5 million for the fund, while the Dominican government will provide the remaining US$3.5 million. Environment Minister Omar Ramirez said that this represents an improvement in the sustainability of the nation’s ecosystem and development.

According to TNC representative William Welter, the agreement shows the reach of inter-organizational and international cooperation. The SINAP includes 86 sites and covers 11,500 kilometers, or 24% of Dominican territory.

Employees who vote in localities far from their work places will have a more flexible schedule, said Hotels and Restaurants Association (Asonahores) executive vicepresident Arturo Villanueva. “They’ll receive facilities. That’s an inalienable right of the worker, to be able to vote.”

He said if interested, each employee will coordinate their temporary absence with their area manager. “Turns will be organized so the work in the hotel isn’t detained.”

Villanueva asked politicians and the population to behave in a civilized manner on elections day, so the productive work immediately recovers its normality. “the country has advanced much, this is a mature democracy.”

Source: DominicanToday.com

Santo Domingo.– Flights to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Panama are on sale from Spirit. Fares start at $58 round-trip for travel in May and June.

Spirit’s deal ends on Saturday at 11:59 p.m. ET, so you must act fast to snag one of the $58 fares.

Travel is valid on select dates from May 11 through June 14.

Best sample round-trip fares, not including additional taxes and fees, are:

$58 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Spirit

$58 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Ponce, Puerto Rico on Spirit

$58 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Panama City, Panama on Spirit

All prices, dates, and booking details listed here were valid at the time of publication. Some information may have changed since that time.

Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights and dates. Be flexible with your travel dates to find the lowest fares. Blackout dates and additional restrictions may apply.

Source: DominicanToday.com

If local hotels and resorts purchase energy from local providers, they are paying US$0.24 cents a kilowatt-hour, but our major competitors are paying half or less that price for the same amount of energy. According to both executives, efforts to purchase energy directly from the providers have met with stiff resistance from the electricity distributors.

In another series of comments, Villanueva remarked on the need to finish some of the basic infrastructure projects, such as the Tourism Corridor which is designed to prevent the creation of slum areas near tourist areas, as has occurred in Puerto Plata to the detriment of that destination. Such a corridor would provide safety for the tourist and allow for adjacent areas to prosper from the tourist trade.

Source: Dr1.com

SANTO DOMINGO.- The first direct flight from Moscow landed at international Punta Cana International Airport (east) Sunday, after a Russian airline Transaero Boeing 747-400 covered a distance of 11,000 kilometers, flying 12 hours.

The tow-story jet fly a total 352 passengers; 11 in first class whose seats can also become beds; 56 in business, and 285 in economy. The aircraft will join the fleet of the company’s 29 planes.

Transaero representative in the country Ruscan Pirogov, and Dominican Tourism Promotion Office (OPT) director in Russia, Galina Lyssenko received the flight, accompanied by journalists.

The days of the flights from and to Russia are Thursday and Sunday although according to Pirogov, “starting November we’ll be flying three or four times per week from Moscow and possibly from other airports.”

Transaero began operations in the country on December 30, 2003 with a flight every two weeks, using a Boeing 767-300, with a capacity for 230 passengers.

Source: DominicanToday.com

Santo Domingo.– The Dominican Republic is hot, and the pace of openings seems likely to establish the country as the Caribbean’s choice golf destination.

One course that has gotten recent attention is Punta Espada, the first at Cap Cana and a Jack Nicklaus signature, which opened in 2006. The 7,382-yard route includes eight oceanside holes and others that make use of the area’s bluffs and beaches.

In Punta Cana, Nick Faldo’s Roco Ki Resort opened in 2007, as did Nick Price’s Punta Blanca near the new Majestic Colonial Beach Resort.

This year, Tom Fazio’s Corales golf course, a private membership club at Puntacana Resort & Club, and P.B. Dye’s Hacienda, for hotel guests, both open while a second Nicklaus design, Las Iguanas Golf Course, is under construction. These will bring the number of D.R. courses to 22.

If you’re more inclined to try a new course that’s had a chance to mature, visit the Guavaberry Golf & Country Club, which opened in 2002 on the south coast. The Gary Player design follows a route over coral rock formations, one of which rises on either side of a double green on the signature #13.

The only knock on the D.R. is that resorts tend to be spread out and not that accessible to one another, so the large number of courses suggests a more varied experience than most players are likely to have.

That said, Casa de Campo has three outstanding designs within its 7,000-acre complex. The most famous is Teeth of the Dog, the Pete Dye course that has consistently been rated one of the world’s best and which reopened in December 2005 after an extensive makeover.

Dye’s most recent Caribbean design is Dye Fore, whose contours follow the Chavón River, the location for parts of Apocalypse Now. If it weren’t overshadowed by Teeth, the 7,770-yard route would get more attention for its beauty and challenge. The neglected-sibling course is the Links, which is more forgiving than the other two but worthy of respect.

Source: DominicanToday.com

During the fair, the public will be able to buy summer vacation packages in the country, as well as international destinations, choosing from a wide range of products and services.

In La Romana, the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach is priced at $85 per person per night now through July 2, $98 July 3 through Sept. 1.

Also in La Romana, the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace runs $98 now through July 2, $112 July 3 through Sept. 1.

Rates include all meals and snacks, unlimited rinks, cocktails and wine, taxes, gratuities, non-motorized water sports, spa, daily activities, night entertainment and kid activities.

For more information: 800-996-3426, www.vivawyndhamresorts.com.