SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic has authorized the arrival of 800 new flights to accommodate a surge in tourists who were originally planning to vacation in Jamaica and other nearby islands but were rerouted following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa. The flights, a combination of regular and charter ones, were approved […]
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Dominican Republic authorizes arrival of 800 new flights as tourists rerouted after ‘Melissa’
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic has authorized the arrival of 800 new flights to accommodate a surge in tourists who were originally planning to vacation in Jamaica and other nearby islands but were rerouted following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.
The flights, a combination of regular and charter ones, were approved as the Caribbean country prepares for peak tourism season, industry officials said Wednesday.
“This will have a positive impact on hotel occupancy in the Dominican Republic, and Dominican hotels have the capacity to receive that influx,” said Nairobi Santos, spokesperson for the country’s Association of Hotels and Tourism.
She said the additional flights will occur over eight months, noting that an average occupancy rate of more than 95% is projected for the holiday season.
“We authorized 800 flights in one fell swoop because all that tourism that was going to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic will benefit,” Héctor Porcella, president of the country’s Civil Aviation Board, told reporters this week.
He lamented the disaster that the Category 5 storm unleashed in the northern Caribbean last month, noting that the impact was especially hard in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti.
The number of tourists who arrived in the Dominican Republic last month rose to more than 672,000, compared with more than 575,600 in September. Officials say they expect that number to surge this month, although data was not yet available.
The Dominican Republic has so far welcomed more than 8 million visitors from January to October.
Hotel occupancy rates rose to 63% last month from 58% in September, according to statistics from the Dominican Central Bank.
Tourism is a cornerstone for the Dominican Republic’s economy, generating nearly $11 million last year.
As the Dominican Republic prepares for a higher-than-normal influx of visitors, Jamaica is struggling to recover from Hurricane Melissa after it made landfall in the western part of the island on Oct. 28.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said there have been several flight cancellations, and some major hotels have said they don’t anticipate reopening until mid- or late 2026.
But Bartlett said earlier this week that he expects about 60% of hotel rooms to be available starting in mid-December.
He also noted that cruise ships have visited Jamaica since the storm, bringing some 32,000 passengers so far, with that number expected to double next week.
Melissa ravaged Jamaica’s western region, with 76% of the power grid operational as of Wednesday, nearly a month after the storm hit, said Alvin Gayle, director of the island’s emergency management office.
Meanwhile 82% of customers had water, he added.
The storm killed 45 people, with 16 others still missing, Gayle said.
Eleven other people in Jamaica have died of suspected or confirmed leptospirosis, with 91 overall suspected cases reported, said Health Minister Christopher Tufton.
Melissa also killed at least 43 people in nearby Haiti, where widespread flooding was reported in the country’s southwest region.
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.