Despite the reopening of Dominican Republic few tourists arrive at the hotels

After the closure of its operations in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the hotels of international and local chains opened on July 1, but a week later they remain with few tourists.

The president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Asonahores), Paola Rainieri, said that the majority of flights arriving in the country are with Dominicans and few international tourists. Rainieri commented that the tourists who are arriving, although they do so to a lesser extent than before the Covid-19, come from the US, Spain, Puerto Rico, France, and Switzerland.

The occupation of the 38 hotels that remain open does not exceed 10% “at best,” regretting that in recent years the average annual occupancy was above 70%.

Statistics

Rainieri reported that between January and May of this year the country received 1,189,120 international tourists, which represents a drop of 54% compared to the same period in 2019. In April of this year, according to Rainieri, only 102 tourists arrived in the DR , in May 73 and in June, no tourists arrived, so the country has stopped receiving 1.9 million international travelers for the coronavirus compared to the first half of the previous year, a decrease of 61%.

He added that the estimated loss of income for the country’s economy is US $ 2.2 billion and US $ 900 million for the hotel sector. He said that 26 hotels have scheduled to reopen for the rest of July, seven will open in August, four will open in September, four will reopen on October, 15 in November and one in December. According to the president of the Santo Domingo Hotel Association (AHSD), Roberto Henríquez, of the 287 hotels in Santo Domingo, there are only 11 open, and depending on demand some will open in August or September.

PERMANENT
Hotels that are still open

Santo Domingo

Among the hotel chains located in the Dominican capital that reopened on July 1 are Sheraton, El Embajador, Intercontinental, and JW Marriott.