US media continues to focus on recent deaths of US citizens in the Dominican Republic. The hype is affecting travel. Delta Airlines recently announced it would be flexible on flight plans for ticket sales to the country.
Around 2.2 million US tourists traveled to the DR in 2018. So far in 2019, 10 American citizens have been reported dead of health issues in the country, according to the US State Department.
A feature in CNN today shares data indicating that the DR has lower rates of unnatural deaths than Jamaica and Bahamas. Both countries are benefiting from cancellations after the country has catapulted into the spotlight and press report in the US keep toll of each death or illness of a tourist in the country that is the leading destination for US tourists in the Caribbean.
CNN reports that in 2018, the rate of unnatural deaths of Americans in Jamaica was 1.04 per 100,000. That’s higher than in the Bahamas (0.71 per 100,000) and the Dominican Republic (0.58 per 100,000).
Autopsies carried out on tourist victims show that most of these have died of natural causes from heart attacks. Dominican resorts are generous in food and free liquor served at the all-inclusive facilities.
The Ministry of Tourism requested Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) assistance to carry out toxicology tests of three victims that died within two weeks at the same tourism complex to rule out or determine actions regarding pesticides or adulterated alcohol or other substances.
27 June 2019