The aftershocks from the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti have resonated well beyond the zones of destruction in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in that ruined country.
Haiti’s devastation has affected the tourism industry in the neighboring Dominican Republic, as well.
In the first days following the quake and its subsequent aftershocks, several hotel chains and tour operators in the D.R. reported a drop in bookings along with an increase in queries from customers nervous about vacationing in a country that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Now a month after the quake, numbers have stabilized and are holding their own, with tourism officials again optimistic about a robust winter season.
The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism moved quickly to reassure visitors that its major tourist areas of Punta Cana, La Romana, Samana and Puerto Plata, as well as the country’s airports and seaports, had experienced no damage, were open for business and were receiving visitors.
The D.R. opened a little-used international airport in Barahona on the southwest part of the island to provide international relief organizations access to Haiti without disrupting commercial flights.
“Although there have been cancellations, we had a 6% visitor increase in January in Punta Cana. Reports for February also are positive,” according to a ministry statement.
“Given the challenging situation in Haiti, many potential visitors need reassurance about the D.R.’s sound status. We continue to provide facts to our travelers and trade partners that the D.R. experienced no damage,” the statement said.
Travel Impressions, which has more than 70 resorts in its D.R. inventory, reported a drop in bookings in the past weeks, but it posts daily updates on its website to let customers and agents know that all tourism facilities are fully operational.
The site also has information on the geography of the island and the driving distances between major points in the D.R. and Haiti “to inform agents when they get questions from their clients,” said Elyse Elkin, Travel Impressions’ vice president for corporate strategic product.
She recently returned from Punta Cana and said “hotels and resorts look better than ever.”
Riu Hotels & Resorts, with five properties in Punta Cana and three in Puerto Plata, had no cancellations following the quake but did report a slowdown in new bookings, especially from Europe.
“Europeans tend to associate the catastrophe with the whole island and prefer to look at other options for the holidays, such as Mexico. This is understandable, but normalcy is returning to the booking situation,” a spokesman said.
Jim Hobbs, CEO of Cheap Caribbean, said bookings slowed for two weeks after the quake. “We had phone calls from customers wanting clarification on the situation, and we had some itinerary switches from the D.R. to Mexico and Jamaica,” he said.
The capital city of Santo Domingo was affected the most, Hobbs said. “It was in the news, and it became the staging center for relief efforts, so the resorts in nearby Boca Chica and Juan Dolio were affected when people changed to Punta Cana and other areas.”
Advance bookings for the D.R. continue to increase, he said.
Several groups canceled and the pace of FIT business slowed at Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts’ three Paradisus properties in Punta Cana, according to Tony Cortizas, vice president of marketing.
“It is a shame, because planners/buyers are not grasping that by taking their business elsewhere they are indirectly hurting the situation,” Cortizas said. “The D.R.’s economy is very dependent upon tourism, and there are many Haitian nationals working in the D.R.”
Sol Melia, like many other travel firms, launched aid and fundraising initiatives for earthquake victims.
Neither Barcelo Hotels’ nine resorts nor AMResorts’ six properties reported any fallout from the quake.
AMResorts is encouraging guests to bring medical supplies with them on their vacation, “as we are donating these to local relief centers,” said Jan LaPointe, director of marketing distribution.