Santo Domingo.- East region hoteliers are savoring the fruits of the newly built Coral Highway, which shortens the trip between Punta Cana’s numerous resorts and Santo Domingo to around two hours.

Eastern Hotels Association president Ernesto Veloz said the number of visitors from those resorts to the Dominican capital has increased by as many as 7,000, thanks to the road Iinaugurated just one month ago.

He said from 10 to 15,000 tourists (around 180,000 per year) from the east had been visiting Santo Domingo monthly, but numbers could rise to as high as 500,000 yearly with the new highway. "Now the trip from Punta Cana to Santo Domingo lasts two to two-and-half hours, but it took eight hours roundtrip before. Under those conditions it was impossible to do more trips."

The business leader said the Coral Highway is modern, very safe and comfortable because it’s well paved, painted and has very good reflective systems. "Now I come from La Romana to Punta Cana in 35 minutes, when it took an hour and 45 minutes before."

Accidents

Veloz said he doesn’t know why the road has so many detractors, "when it’s the culmination of a demand from the East region’s inhabitants for years."

He acknowledged that while there’s been some accidents, it’s not for a lack of road signs or security, but for speeding. "It’s precisely because the road is so good people abuse the throttle."