U.S. Travel industry view of DR

A

appleman

New member
Dec 18, 2003
304
11
0
I thought this incident would be of interest to those living in The Dominican Republic.

First let me say that I have been all over the north coast, Samana peninsula, the central valley, and I?ve been to Punta Cana as well. Most of my visits were to tourist areas, but we travelled all over the countryside, visiting the campos and small towns away from the tourist areas, as well as deserted beaches and roads that we drove off-road motorcycles on to see where they would take us. In all my travels, not once have I encountered any problems or felt uneasy or unsafe wherever I was. Every person I encountered was friendly and helpful when I sought information or directions.

Yesterday my daughter and son-in-law visited a travel agent in the U.S. to get information on possible destinations for an upcoming trip. They told the agent they wanted to go someplace where they could get away from the resort areas and visit the towns, see the people, and experience the culture of the area they visited. They said they did not want to go to Jamaica due to its reputation of being unsafe and drug problems outside the resorts. The agent immediately said ?Oh yes, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic are definitely not safe. They are the two worst for crime and drugs.?

My daughter told the agent that as far as she was concerned, the DR was NOT like Jamaica, and was a safe place. But I wonder if this is how the DR is now being viewed and described in the U. S. Maybe it was only this agent or this tour company. But I tend to believe that there has been much negative press and stories of crime against tourists in the last year or two and I wonder if this has tainted the industry?s view of the DR as a safe destination.

Anyone else hearing remarks like this? Should travel agents be telling potential DR visitors this stuff? I think the DR is as safe as any other major travel destination, but these agents are steering people away. It will be a sad day for the Dominican economy if the island gets a reputation that it doesn?t deserve?A few random acts of violence can really be blown out of proportion and affect an entire country, so I hope Dominicans (and ex-pats) are keeping the pressure on their leaders to ?clean up their act? where necessary.

bob
 
NALs

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,502
3,199
113
The DR is a safe country for tourists. The probabilities of being a victim of any crime anywhere are always higher for locals than for visitors, that is a general rule of thumb. Probably less than 1% of all visitors find themselves in trouble and most of those incidents the tourists themselves are to blame (ie. drugs related, sexual exploitation of minors, etc).

Personally, I think there is a general misunderstanding when it comes to interpreting Dominican crime statistics. Many people tend to think that the country has a very high murder rate because its "violent death" rate is quite elevated.

However, what most people don't realize is that much of the "violent death" statistics of the DR is composed of people who lost their lives in car accidents, as oppose to being killed via firearms or in some horrific criminal activity. In fact, the term violent death includes all types of violent deaths, which can mean a murder or dying in a car accident.

If I'm not mistaken, automobile accidents is the number one killer in the DR, not murders or anything else. If the authorities were to publish two sets of statistics, one including all violent deaths in the country and another excluding death due to car accidents, I'm sure the sense of the DR being a "dangerous" country would subside since much of the violent death is bolstered by the car accident statistics.

Even better would be if the authorities would differentiate between random murders and planned murders and of the planned ones, which ones were due to drug trafficking issues (a large number of the murders are due to drugs and the traffickers killing each other), love triangles, etc.

I think the crime issue is blown way out of proportion. It is much more dangerous now than before, but its hard to accept that its as dangerous as many people want to believe, most of whom get their information from the media.

Yellow media is rife in the DR, hence much of the perception of crime in the DR is probably blown out of proportion.

-NALs ;)
 
C

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
7,951
28
0
www.caribbetech.com
Nals, last I checked, death by car accident and death by murder is still dead ;). The one is not less dead than the other. It still is a violent way to die.
 
NALs

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,502
3,199
113
Chris said:
Nals, last I checked, death by car accident and death by murder is still dead ;). The one is not less dead than the other. It still is a violent way to die.
Click to expand...
Yes, but most people are not aware that car accidents accounts for so much of the violent deaths in the DR. In fact, they might not even be "car" accidents, but probably "motoconcho" accidents given the frequency one hears of motorcycle accidents and the tragic death of the riders.

For most people, violent deaths statistics = murders, in fact, what comes to mind first is random murders.

There is a big difference in dying in a homicide (intentional) vs. a car accident (random). Besides, what percentage of the time tourists spend in the DR do they spend on Dominican roads? The longest trips are probably the tours from PC to SDQ or POP to SDQ and those are done in large coach buses, that unless the entire bus runs off a bridge or something, the tourists won't really be at much risk if the bus was to get into an accident with a car somewhere (or a motoconcho, which is more likely).

What's left after that? The whirlwind bus ride from the airport to the resort and vice versa, that at most could last 45 minutes. Most tourists go through such journey is much less time.

The point is that the risk of a tourist meeting with his/her death while vacationing in the DR is very very low.

When it comes to robberies and muggings, the risk is probably low in those types of crimes as well, unless the tourists decide to visit the slums or other rough neighborhoods. The greatest risk is being pick pocketed and that's a risk that is present pretty much everywhere in the world, at least in every major tourist destination.

So what's left?

Contracting a disease of some sort? Very low risk of getting malaria, dengue, etc. while on vacation. Parasites can be avoided by not walking barefoot and drinking bottled water.

What is there to fear?

Add to that the fact that most tourists don't leave the resorts.

What is there to fear?

Hence, travel agents should not be making comments like the one the OP cited. And this is not the first time a DR1 member has brought this to light.

-NALs
 
T

tflea

Bronze
Jun 11, 2006
1,839
164
63
Remember

Travel agents are paid on commission. Those who grease their palms the greatest get the highest recommendations. No need to go into statistics and all the rest. Business is business. What am I missing?
 
F

FireGuy

Rest in peace Amigo!
Aug 21, 2002
2,516
74
0
70
www.polaris-fs.com
First I would like to say that I agree with the OP that for whatever reason there is a perception in the US travel marketplace that the DR is not a safe destination. I have no idea where the origins of this misconception may be unless they are buried deep in the heart of perceptions of DR enclaves in the USA (Washington Heights, etc. where my limited exposure is from side and back handed comments which make their way into US TV shows like "Law & Order"). Were this my only exposure to things Dominican I might be more likely to travel to another destination.

Having said that and in spite of this impression in the US, the DR is a very successful tourist destination (some 4 million landings per year) vs. other destinations which we perceive as popular like Jamaica which is around 2 million landings per year. One big difference is that in the DR the US is significantly under-represented in numbers; contributing less than twice the tourists than does Canada; a country with approximately one-tenth of the population. If the US were to send more tourists due to properly directed DR marketing the sky is the limit for numbers and incomes from the potential tourist boom.

Of course, to many on this board who are not fans of the AI resorts or their formulae, this is not a good prospect BUT the AI's MUST be doing something right because even protectionist Jamaica (where even 10 years ago there were no resorts owned by outside interests (AFAIK) has embraced the outside AI concept; especially Spanish owned) and we now have Riu'S (4), Iberostar's (2) and a Bahia Principe plying their trade in Jamaica. Like it or not AI's must be doing something to appeal to local and tourist interests as they continue to flourish both in the DR and throughout the Caribbean and Mexico.

I welcome more pertinent input on this and associated topics.

Gregg
 
cobraboy

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
113
FireGuy said:
One big difference is that in the DR the US is significantly under-represented in numbers; contributing less than twice the tourists than does Canada; a country with approximately one-tenth of the population. If the US were to send more tourists due to properly directed DR marketing the sky is the limit for numbers and incomes from the potential tourist boom.

Gregg
Click to expand...
I'm not sure the raw stats tell the entire story about how many Americans travel to the DR. I think Americans are even more under-represented than you claim.

In the years I've been traveling there, probably 30+ trips to and from the last few years, primarily to SDQ, the VAST majority of travelers on flights to the DR are Dominicans coming home to visit. I wouldn't consider them "tourists".

Additionally, I primarily stay in the Cibao, Santiago, Jarabacoa, often to Samana and a couple of visits th the Capital and Southwest. Non-Dominican Americans seem to be in very short supply there.

The stats may say "American", but they really aren't.

Anecdotally, even American folks I know who are seasoned Caribbean travelers know little about the DR.

IMO, the DR is largly "hidden" from normal Americans compared to the rest of the Caribbean and Central America, moreso than Jamaica. Some personal market research in (admittedly) one small market segment (not sex tourism) has proven this to me.
 
C

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
I thought the US always led the list on visitor statistics, not Canada, but as cb says this is skewed by the large number of Dominicans who are US passport holders.
 
P

pelaut

Bronze
Aug 5, 2007
1,089
33
48
www.ThornlessPath.com
USA presents an anomaly in international travel. I believe it's the ONLY large market that does not customarily use group travel for outbound tourists. Unions, guilds, government institutions, corporations, transportation firms ... etc., etc., elsewhere have Xmas clubs, Travel Clubs, Vacation Clubs ... etc., etc., who offer deep discounts as well as payroll deduction plans for int'l group travel to AI resorts, cruises, etc. Not the US.

For Americans on this thread who may not understand this, I can tell you that even as an executive in Swedish and then French companies in the 70s money was taken from my monthly paycheck against my will for vacations I didn't want as a gimmee for the workers' unions. BTW, I took some of those which involved skiing and they were terrific, paying less than a third of what individual arrangements would have cost for top destinations.

A savvy tourism campaign by Felucho would focus less on TV and magazine ads and more on leveraging Thompson and Cooks or whomever into the U.S. institutions. Unions love it since they can use the float to finance their intrigues. Felucho & Company would love it because they'd have lots of NYC, ATL, DC, MIA and Dallas boondoggles in their budget.
 
E

El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
2,306
57
0
Agree with OP. I had a conversation with a co-worker who is visiting the DR (Punta Cana) for the first time. This is how the conversation went...Co-worker: hey, you're from the Dominican right?Me: I've never heard of such place. Do you mean the Dominican RepublicCo-worker: oh you know what I mean, I wanted to ask you something about Punta CanaMe: I know what you mean but most Dominicans don't like their country to be called the Dominican, and I'm one of them (smile)Co-woker: so, i'm going with my husband and my sister and her husband. do you recommend for us to venture out of the resort? the travel agent at liberty travel told us not to. that it is EXTREMELY violent there and we could get mugged.Me: do I recommend it? of course if you want to experience the real D.R. a resort won't offer that to you. and it is not as bad as they paint it out to be. when you go out of the resort just keep your eye open and use common sense.Co-worker: ok, thanks.This was last week. And ever since then I have been thinking of going down to the Liberty Travel store she bought the trip from (it's a block away) and unloading on the travel agent.
 
L

leekiv

New member
Mar 5, 2007
510
4
0
103
It might be more benificial to....

El Tigre said:
Agree with OP. I had a conversation with a co-worker who is visiting the DR (Punta Cana) for the first time. This is how the conversation went...Co-worker: hey, you're from the Dominican right?Me: I've never heard of such place. Do you mean the Dominican RepublicCo-worker: oh you know what I mean, I wanted to ask you something about Punta CanaMe: I know what you mean but most Dominicans don't like their country to be called the Dominican, and I'm one of them (smile)Co-woker: so, i'm going with my husband and my sister and her husband. do you recommend for us to venture out of the resort? the travel agent at liberty travel told us not to. that it is EXTREMELY violent there and we could get mugged.Me: do I recommend it? of course if you want to experience the real D.R. a resort won't offer that to you. and it is not as bad as they paint it out to be. when you go out of the resort just keep your eye open and use common sense.Co-worker: ok, thanks.This was last week. And ever since then I have been thinking of going down to the Liberty Travel store she bought the trip from (it's a block away) and unloading on the travel agent.
Click to expand...

go see the agent and ask why they have said this? Then you could point out why it is not so. Just a thought. ;)
 
D

drloca

Silver
Oct 26, 2004
2,097
216
63
El Tigre said:
Agree with OP. I had a conversation with a co-worker who is visiting the DR (Punta Cana) for the first time. This is how the conversation went...Co-worker: hey, you're from the Dominican right?Me: I've never heard of such place. Do you mean the Dominican RepublicCo-worker: oh you know what I mean, I wanted to ask you something about Punta CanaMe: I know what you mean but most Dominicans don't like their country to be called the Dominican, and I'm one of them (smile)Co-woker: so, i'm going with my husband and my sister and her husband. do you recommend for us to venture out of the resort? the travel agent at liberty travel told us not to. that it is EXTREMELY violent there and we could get mugged.Me: do I recommend it? of course if you want to experience the real D.R. a resort won't offer that to you. and it is not as bad as they paint it out to be. when you go out of the resort just keep your eye open and use common sense.Co-worker: ok, thanks.This was last week. And ever since then I have been thinking of going down to the Liberty Travel store she bought the trip from (it's a block away) and unloading on the travel agent.
Click to expand...

I think you are totally justified in wanting to at least question the source of the agents information. You may want to ask her to produce some stats to substantiate her "warnings".
 
F

FireGuy

Rest in peace Amigo!
Aug 21, 2002
2,516
74
0
70
www.polaris-fs.com
cobraboy said:
I'm not sure the raw stats tell the entire story about how many Americans travel to the DR. I think Americans are even more under-represented than you claim...
Click to expand...

I would agree with this assessment but wanted to use numbers which I believe are, if anything very conservative, (at least the comparative ones).



Chirimoya said:
I thought the US always led the list on visitor statistics, not Canada, but as cb says this is skewed by the large number of Dominicans who are US passport holders.
Click to expand...

The US leads the visitor count in absolute terms BUT when you consider that there are roughly ten times as many Americans as Canadians then Canada has more visitors per capita and not just by a little bit. If the US were to have as many visitors as Canada on a per capita basis there would be some 5.5 million US visitors alone and Tourism could more than double.

Here are the 2007 numbers from DR1 (Thursday, 24 January 2008) but as usual with DR numbers I am having trouble reconciling what is claimed (the percentages) against the raw numbers.

"The DR's tourism sector experienced minimal growth in 2007. The arrival of visitors by air only grew by 1.6% between January and December while the arrival of non-resident Dominicans declined by 6.7%. The minimal growth reflects a generalized trend in the Caribbean region. Hotels also felt the tourism slump that decreased from 73% in 2006 to 72.2% in 2007. Listin Diario carries a report by the Central Bank that indicates that in 2007 the DR received 4,428,005 passengers of which 3,398,374 were non-resident foreigners and 581,208 were non-resident Dominicans. Punta Cana was the busiest among all airports receiving 51.4% of all tourists, followed by Las Americas (Santo Domingo) and Puerto Plata's Gregorio Luperon Airport, La Romana, the Cibao airport and La Isabela. Americans were still the DR's largest tourist group of air arrivals with 1,080,066 or 37.1% of the total. Canadians make up the second largest group of visitors, with 17.2% of the total."

Play with the numbers as you like but no matter what number you arrive at there is still a huge upside growth potential in the US market.

Gregg
 
A

Amy S

New member
Dec 8, 2006
8
0
0
US travel to DR

I have made numerous trips to the DR over the past three years. I have noticed that many of my fellow travellers on the plane flying into the country are returning home or are visiting relatives in the DR.

The resort I stay at rarely has other guests from the US but there are always guests from Canada, particularly the Toronto area. Most of the foreigners I meet are European. When I tell people in the US that I am going to the DR they always have a story about someone they know who thinks it's 'dangerous' and they can't understand why I would dare go there. I think part of this misconception comes from the history of the country, not its present conditions. There was a time when the country was dangerous (Trujillo!) but that time has passed.

Like others have said about the travel agents working on commission, I can understand them not recommending the DR considering how much more it costs to go to other Caribbean countries.
 
D

donquixote

New member
Aug 2, 2005
158
6
0
The biggest problem is that the government does very little in promoting and advertising. People hear 100 times a bad problem but only once something positive.

Since the cost in taxes and fees are more for the dominican republic than any other county, if money was spent to promote the good, there would be a lot more visitors.

I am not sure in the usa, but i know in canada, cuba is the leader in promoting and advertising and they get the payoffs for it.
 
bob saunders

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,568
5,985
113
dr1.com
I agree that promotion is a big part of this. There are half a dozen tropical destinations that do a better job of advertising than the DR. I think if the government would invest more in English language training, customer relations training,...etc they would attract more Americans. It's also true than the huge amount of Dominicans that get sent back from the states for committing crimes doesn't improve the reputation of he country. CB- Most charters, and there are many, especially to Punta Cana are all filled with tourists not returning Dominicans. Flying AA out of Miami or NYC is a different matter all together.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom