According to marine route maps from the period, the property acquired by Groupo Puntacana in 1969 on the southern coast of the country was named Punta Borrachón (“Drunken Point”).
Frank Rainieri understood immediately that this name was not attractive for either tourism or commercial purposes. For that reason he decided to use Punta Cana, the name of a nearby area located farther south of the property, to name the first hotel – The Punta Cana Club.
With the opening of the Punta Cana International Airport, tourists who came to the area thought they had arrived to Punta Cana. What they did not take into account was that upon arrival they were transported to hotels located in the Bavaro, Macao, Arena Gorda, El Cortecito, Cabeza de Toro and Uvero Alto areas. That is why today many hotels use the name Punta Cana along with their brands even when they are not geographically located in Punta Cana.
Having been identified with the name for over 35 years, the Board of Directors of GRUPO Puntacana, pioneers in the destination’s development and tourism, decided to differentiate itself by converting the brand name Puntacana into a sole capitalized written word in late 2004. The emotional attachment and the successful progress of the region was a primary reason for the conversion. The airport on the other hand did not take on the brand name so as to avoid confusion between the destination and the name.
