History of Punta Cana as a tourist destination.

The History of Punta Cana as a tourist destination is very recent.

Until the late 1960s, the eastern part of the Dominican Republic (where Punta Cana is located), was undeveloped jungle land.

Although the beaches were wonderful, there was no way to reach them comfortably because there were no roads or airports.

Frank R. Rainieri, a visionary entrepreneur

But the history of Punta Cana begins to change, at the end of the year 1969 a group of American investors visualizes the tourist potential of the area, and acquires a vast extension of land to start developing for tourist purposes.

These investors partnered with Dominican businessman Frank R. Rainieri and began to build the "Punta Cana Club" hotel, which was inaugurated in 1971.

The hotel begins to operate, tourists arrive, but the group faces great challenges and difficulties, such as the lack of supply of basic services in the area (electricity supply, water and sewage, garbage collection, etc.) as well as other issues such as security and supply of provisions.

But the biggest difficulty was the lack of access roads to the hotel, since at that time there were no roads and highways to facilitate the arrival of tourists.

But the few tourists who have enjoyed Punta Cana are still amazed by its exotic beaches, fine white sands and coconut trees.

The name Punta Cana is becoming more and more famous in the world of tourism, so a new destination in the Caribbean of dreamy paradisiacal beaches begins to emerge.

Punta Cana and its growth as a tourist destination

Other investment groups also see the potential of Punta Cana, an unpolished diamond in the rough, and begin to settle in the area.

In 1978 Club Med Paris arrives and begins to build a major hotel complex. Club Med opens its doors in 1981, the year in with the inauguration of the first highway connecting Punta Cana to the Dominican Republic's road network.

With the inauguration of the highway, the transfer of tourists to Punta Cana was facilitated, but still not in optimal conditions, since the hours of travel were still long.

It was necessary to develop new wide roads and highways to facilitate access and, most importantly, an airport was needed to receive international tourists.

By now, no one doubted the enormous potential of this destination called Punta Cana. Businessmen were requesting the government to build an airport nearby to be able to receive foreign visitors.

Punta Cana opens up to the world

The demands of the businessmen were finally heard, and in 1982 work began on the construction of the Punta Cana International Airport, which was later inaugurated in 1984.

With the opening of the airport, Punta Cana opened to the world, more investments and tourists arrived, and from then on, Punta Cana did not stop growing to become one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Caribbean.

Today, Punta Cana is synonymous with luxury all-inclusive hotels and paradisiacal Caribbean beaches, with an exceptional tourism infrastructure for travelers, it is undoubtedly the top destination in the Caribbean.