If your idea of a perfect vacation is relaxing for days on a white beach lined with tall palm trees, Punta Cana is for you. But reasonably priced packages to all-inclusive hotels scattered along the beach are why Punta Cana is a hot new destination in the Caribbean. I came to Punta Cana after local travel agents told me about its growing popularity. I was invited by the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism, which wants more Americans to visit Punta Cana.
Tourism is the country's primary industry.
Punta Cana is experiencing the fastest growth of any Caribbean destination, according to Mary Alice Miller a travel counselor at AAA East Penn in Allentown. People don't come to this remote tip of the Dominican Republic to sightsee or learn about the country and its people. There is little to do outside the gates of the modern resorts, which could stand along any Caribbean beach. It is a European custom, not a Dominican or Latin American custom. There are no separate and secluded topless beaches.