My Trip to DR: It’s Safe, Y’all
In the early summer of 2019, reports began to surface about ‘mysterious American deaths’ occurring in the Caribbean country of Dominican Republic. From early 2018 through Spring 2019, 9 American tourists were identified as having passed away at a number of vacation resorts in the area of Punta Cana, with one incident occurring in the city of Sosua. (I won’t post links to the actual media frenzy, you can google it).
Immediately, it was assumed that these deaths MUST be linked in some way and folks lost their minds. I mean, lost it. The biggest blow obviously came to tourism to DR from Americans, who had hosted over half a million tourists the year prior. Cancellations became rampant, resulting in some supplier telephone hold times in excess of 3 or 4 hours. It was rough.
Those of us working in the travel industry long enough knew a few things to be true:
- Every year, a different country seems to show up in the spotlight and travelers become afraid to visit
- There weren’t enough facts to draw conclusions
- This too would pass
The FBI was brought in to investigate the deaths, and concluded in October 2019 that the deaths were isolated, unrelated events and all due to natural causes. In light of this, the country has been doing a ton of work to rehabilitate their image in the eyes of tourists (I still have prospective clients saying “anywhere but DR”) with the new #TheRealDR campaign.
As part of the rehabilitation process, I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Dominican Republic in July 2019 to showcase its beauty, safety, and opportunity for a retreat (which was well needed). I spent 6 nights at Now Larimar in Bavaro Beach, an area about 15 minutes from Punta Cana International Airport. During my stay, I had the chance to tour 5 adults’ only resorts (Excellence El Carmen, Excellence Punta Cana, TRS Cap Cana, Secrets Cap Cana and Sanctuary Cap Cana) and did an INCREDIBLE all-day excursion to Saona Island (which deserves its own post, to be honest). I’ll write up all of these experiences over time.
We ate, drank (yes from the mini-bar) and enjoyed our time in Punta Cana immensely. Since my return, I’ve sent clients there who have shared the same sentiment. Many of my travel colleagues have gone down for experiences and returned without incident.
If you have been considering a vacation, I strongly encourage you to add Punta Cana back onto your short list. The prices are GREAT right now, which won’t last forever as people are beginning to realize that it’s no more dangerous than traveling to many other tourist destinations across the world. Don’t miss out!
