Austin, Detroit, Milwaukee, Hartford, Minneapolis, Providence, New Haven. What do these cities have in common? It’s no secret that the largest origin markets for travel to the Caribbean are cities like New York, Miami and Chicago. But in recent years, the growth of tourism has encouraged airlines to enter these emerging origin cities.
If you keep an eye on the Caribbean, you’ve probably seen a steady stream of new Caribbean flights launching from cities in Texas, the Midwest and New England. Even Los Angeles is becoming increasingly important for Caribbean travel, with new flights to destinations like the Cayman Islands and Nassau opening in the past two years.
And now we can add one more city to this list: Nashville. The music city has seen incredible growth since the pandemic, which is now translating into increased demand for travel to the Caribbean and Mexico.
The latest addition? Punta Cana, thanks to a new route now being served by Southwest Airlines.
Starting next March, Southwest Airlines will launch a new weekly nonstop flight between Nashville and Punta Cana, one of the Dominican Republic’s most popular tourist destinations.
The new flight, which will begin on March 8, 2025, will join Nashville’s existing route from Nashville to the Mexican Caribbean island of Cancun, marking Nashville’s second Caribbean route.
Southwest Airlines has also announced plans to launch new routes to Mexico, with flights from Nashville and Cabo San Lucas scheduled to begin in March of next year.
Both routes are part of Southwest’s new flight schedule announced this week and are already available for booking.
So how much will Southwest’s new flights to the Caribbean islands cost?
They’re not cheap: Currently, prices start at $1,434.28 for travel between March 10 and March 17 on Southwest Airlines ($80 more for Business Select), but prices will likely fall as the March peak season moves into April and May.
The flight to Punta Cana takes approximately 3 hours 45 minutes, and the return flight takes approximately 4.5 hours.
Planning a visit? Check out Lopesan Costa Bavaro Resort, which has become the top all-inclusive resort in the Bavaro area of ​​Punta Cana.
For more information, please contact Southwest Airlines to book now.
CJ Expert Opinion: Although Southwest has not expanded into the Caribbean as recently as it did a few years ago, the airline clearly recognizes the potential of the region, especially emerging international travel markets like Tennessee.
