Who Are We?
In 2005 Palmera Travel S.A. / Palmera Destination Services was bought by Mr. Anders Bogebjerg and Mrs. Ragnhild Hansen (Rawnie). Anders and Ragnhild came to Punta Cana for the first time in November 2004 and were only supposed to spend 6 months working on the destination before returning to their native home in Denmark.
However, an opportunity presented itself as the Dominican owner of Palmera offered to sell the company to them. They decided to take the chance, went back to Denmark to pack their things and get all of their papers in order and moved to Punta Cana in the spring of 2005 where they formally purchased Palmera.
The previous owner stayed with Anders and Ragnhild for a year to bring them into the business and make sure they got a good start. They moved the office from a plaza in a part of Punta Cana known as Veron to their 2 bedroom apartment in Villas Bavaro. For two years they lived and worked in the same apartment and grew Palmera to become one of the best boutique style incoming tour operators / DMCs in town.
They expanded their business in the area of golf and created a golf department that included running golf excursions from all hotels in the area to all golf courses in Punta Cana and La Romana/Casa de Campo, managing a golf academy at Barcelo and White Sands golf courses and eventually organizing and hosting international golf tournaments for amateur golfers.
Photo: Anders Bogebjerg
Anders was the head of the various golf activites. His background is as a professional (PGA) golf player and European Junior Champion. Before moving to Punta Cana, he was playing golf professionally in Scandinavia and Europe at Challenge Tour level. From 2000 he began working in the travelling industry every winter season and representing Danish travelling agencies abroad as golf pro, representative and destination manager. Anders is today still a member of PGA of Denmark.
Photo: Ragnhild Hansen (Rawnie)
The first couple of years Ragnhild took care of all operations, promotions and office tasks for Palmera. She has a Master of Arts degree in international business communications from the University of Southern Denmark, (SDU) which fit perfectly with her new job and responsibilities. Before moving to Punta Cana she worked at the Physiology and Pharmacology department at SDU and was part of the team organizing the 2003 Scandinavian Congress of Physiology and Pharmacology. During the winters of 2004 and 2005 she was working in the Dominican Republic as sales representative and office manager for other tour operators.
In 2011 Mr. Harry Rho was welcomed as part of the team. Harry has been a golf professional for the past 15 years - both as an assistant golf professional at a member club as well as a head golf professional at a golf center. He has travelled and played extensively in the UK, France and especially in the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana being his favorite winter destination. Harry will be responsible for setting up golf tour groups, golf Schools (clinics) from the US to the Punta Cana/Bavaro area resorts and golf courses for Group Palmera.
In January 2012 Mr. Erik Forssell came onboard as the newest member of the Palmera team. Erik has a golfing background that started at the age of three. He played junior and senior golf in Sweden until he started teaching professionally in 2004. He has worked in different parts of the Dominican Republic and has worked for Palmera from 2006 until May 2008. He returned to Sweden to finish his PGA education. During his education he worked at Saltsjobaden Golf Club and Botkyrka Golf Club in the Stockholm area. He completed his PGA studies in March 2011. From January 2012 Erik has taken the position as Operations Manager in Palmera.
Palmera works with many travel agencies worldwide. The company offers high-end services to individual travellers and groups of all sizes. Everyone at Palmera works as a tight family and the attention to detail in all projects and in taking care of each client is one of the main focus points of the company.
As a member of IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators), Palmera works tirelessly in bringing golfers to the Dominican Republic and in promoting the country as one of the world's top golf destinations. In 2009, Palmera was responsible for bringing back the IAGTO Fam Trip to the Dominican Republic after an unsuccessful event in 2003.
Anders is a personal member of SITE (Society of Incentive Travel Executives) and Palmera is one of the preferred DMCs (Destination Management Company) in Punta Cana for groups & incentive travel as well as corporate travel to the Dominican Republic.
