The main tourist areas in the Dominican Republic did not
sustain major damage from Hurricane Maria.
"The touristic infrastructure of the Dominican
Republic, which includes hotels, airports, ports and highways, has not suffered
material damage with the passage of Hurricane Maria on the north and northwest
coast of the country," said the Association of Hotels & Tourism of the
Dominican Republic in a statement.
The only damage in Punta Cana, Samana and Puerto Plata was
to gardens and trees falling.
"More than 50,000 tourists in hotels, primarily in
Punta Cana, spent Sept. 20 and 21 in secure conditions. Those visitors
relocated due to security protocols are being returned to their original
hotels," the hotel association said.
The international airports that serve Santo Domingo,
Santiago, Puerto Plata, Samana and Punta Cana were not affected. The Punta Cana
airport, which receives 60% of the tourists who visit the D.R., began to
receive flights again on Thursday.
AMResorts had evacuated and/or moved its guests to
designated on-property shelters or relocated to resorts out of the storm's
projected path.
Iberostar Hotels & Resorts said that all six of their
properties in the Punta Cana/Bavaro area are fully operational and have
returned to normal activities.
All government services that were suspended on Thursday have
been reinstated, according to Roberto Rodriguez Marchena, spokesman for
Presient Danilo Medina.