According to the Ambassador for Germany, Edmund Duckwitz, the number of German tourists that visited the Dominican Republic in 1995 was 450,000. He expected that it will increase in 1996 to 500,000, despite the crash of the Alas Nacionales flight to Berlin, when some 189 tourists perished in the Atlantic shortly after the airplane’s take-off from Puerta Plata. Most of those on board were Germans. In an interview with the newspaper Hoy the ambassador confirmed: “that the Dominican Republic continues to be the most important long haul destination for German tourists.”
In his opinion, in order to maintain the country’s tourism development and guarantee the future of the industry, it will not only have to make significant investment in tourist infrastructure to protect the ecology, the training of industry personnel and guaranteeing of the safety of visitors, but also to improve the system of justice and increase security at the airports for the aircraft. He estimated that 30% of the tourists who visit the D.R. are Germans.