Julio Peña Guzmán takes the JAC to Toronto to seek new air routes

The president of the Civil Aviation Board, Julio Peña Guzmán, joined Tourism Minister David Collado at Meet in Paradise Toronto 2026, a meeting with Canadian tour operators and travel agents to promote the country and open new air connections. The JAC reaffirmed its commitment to working with airlines and airports to push routes that bring Dominican destinations closer to more visitors, according to Arecoa.

The figure that matters for the sector: Canada is one of the Caribbean's most stable source markets and its traveler seeks sun and beach year-round, with winter peaks. Every new seat from Toronto, Montreal or Quebec translates into hotel occupancy in Punta Cana, Bávaro and Puerto Plata, and into fiscal revenue through VAT, airport fees and tourist spending in the provinces. Connectivity is not an airline issue: it is the front line of the Dominican tourism economy, and the JAC is treating it as such by sitting down with the tour operators who move the business.

The source does not detail which specific routes are being negotiated or which airlines are at the table, so it is best not to name names. What is clear is the mechanism: international promotion by Mitur and air supply aligned to widen connection alternatives. For hoteliers in the East, every new flight from Canada is a chance to extend the season and compete with Cancún and Jamaica for the same Canadian traveler's wallet.

The reading is clear: the Canadian market is not won with brochures, it is won with available seats and frequency. Meet in Paradise Toronto 2026 puts the JAC and Mitur at the same table with those who sell the destination, and that is the groundwork that later shows up in arrival figures. What to watch: how many of these conversations turn into announced routes and which Dominican airports they land in. That is where the Toronto effort is measured, in occupied rooms in Punta Cana or Puerto Plata.