The Dominican Republic has pushing itself as a pilot-friendly destination for holidays.
Jose Tomas Perez, secretary of state and director of the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC), says that while the nation is already the favorite Caribbean tourist destination, the Dominicans are now intent on becoming the top tourist stop for private aircraft.
The government has teamed up with Caribbean Flying Adventures to make the Dominican Republic the newest and most exciting destination for US private pilots.
“With a tourism-oriented economy, we simply could not continue to forfeit this lucrative segment to our Caribbean neighbors,” says Perez.
With concerns about excessive and inconsistent user fees and handling charges, leisure traffic to the Dominican Republic over the last few decades had become non-existent. However the elimination of all government fees for general aviation aircraft under a maximum landing weight of 30,000 pounds, or a maximum passenger capacity of 12 people has left the door open for the pilot tourist’s dollar.
Caribbean Flying Adventures is planning the first of many guided fly-ins for October 9-14.
Source: Flight International
