Dominican Republic keen on direct flights from Türkiye: Ambassador

By Gozde Bayar

The Dominican Republic is keen to have direct flights from Türkiye, which would boost tourism and bilateral trade, according to the country’s ambassador to Ankara.

“The advantages of opening direct flights from Istanbul to Santo Domingo to (the resort town of) Punta Cana ... will be very beneficial, not only in terms of passengers but also in terms of trade,” Elvis Antonio Alam Lora told Anadolu.

Lora said it is a pity that Türkiye’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines, which caters to over 340 destinations, is not flying to the Dominican Republic, a country that is the second-largest recipient of tourists in Latin America.

He said trade between the two countries via air would be a “win-win situation.”

“The Dominican Republic is the fifth-largest partner in terms of exports to Türkiye in Latin America. So imagine how important we are for Türkiye and Türkiye for us,” he said.

“So it’s a must to finally be able to have direct flights to see the Turkish flag flying in the Dominican Republic,” he added.

Lora went on to say that more than 5,000 Turkish people traveled to the Dominican Republic in the first eight months of this year, with a similar number coming from the Dominican Republic to Türkiye.

“Imagine if you have a direct flight that can cut the time flying by half, instead of 19-20 hours to 11 hours from Istanbul,” he said.

Overall, the Dominican Republic welcomed some 7.5 million visitors last year, the envoy added.

- Bilateral relations and trade

Regarding bilateral ties, Lora said Türkiye and the Dominican Republic will mark 73 years of diplomatic relations this November.

The initial steps were very slow, he said, but pointed out that trade has “skyrocketed” since they opened an embassy in Ankara in 2019.

“Last year, we had bilateral trade very close to $350 million, which is more than $100 million compared to the previous year and $200 million for the two previous years. So trade between the two countries is very encouraging,” he said.

As for cultural affinity, he said Turkish television programs are very well known in the Dominican Republic, from reality shows to soap operas.

“So we are expecting that bilateral relations will increase month after month,” he said, adding that the country has also signed agreements with Turkish universities for student exchange programs.

Lora hailed the efforts of Turkish Ambassador Yesim Kebapcioglu, saying that she has played a very active role as the two sides have created a synergy for expanding trade and cultural exchanges.