Air travel distribution and intelligence company Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) says that the Dominican Republic’s (D.R.) tourism crisis is diverting more visitors to Mexico and other Caribbean destinations.
ARC reports that air ticket purchases made in the U.S. from June 1-23, 2019 for travel to the D.R. fell 10% when compared to the same period in 2018.
Ticket purchases for other Caribbean destinations rose 3%, however, led by Saint Martin, up +158%, Saint Barthélemy +117%, Saint Vincent +70%, Saint Lucia +33% and the Bahamas +32% in the same June 1-23 period.
Refunds for air tickets to the D.R. bought in the U.S. from Jan. 1, 2019 through June 23, 2019 surged 127% when compared to the same period in 2018. Looking only at June 2019 departures to the D.R., refunds increased 77% compared to June 2018, says ARC.
Dominican Republic tourism is in crisis after 13 American tourists have died there in high-end resorts over the past few months.
Air ticket purchases for travel to the D.R. made outside the U.S. from June 1-23 was also down by 28%, compared to the same period in 2018, with refunds up by 8%.
