Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica tourism plunging
Travelers' are experiencing mounting fears over some of the popular summer destinations such as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.
The deaths of several American tourists in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica’s alcohol-related deaths of 19 people have raised safety concerns among vacationers who plan to visit the Caribbean and Central America regions.
Puerto Rico’s political unrest, after residents call for the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, resulted in cruise liners canceling their stops in the Caribbean island’s capital of San Juan.
“We’re not sending them to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic,“ HotelPlanner.com CEO Tim Hentschel told FOX Business's Neil Cavuto on Tuesday. “Occupancies are down by double digits there.”
Hentschel said the fear travelers are experiencing is a temporary phenomenon similar to when travel abroad was halted over terrorist attack fears. Political turmoil and fear of terrorist attacks have resulted in some resorts filing for bankruptcy. Resorts are able to offer tourists better value because investors were able to swoop in and buy the property pennies for the dollar, according to Hentschel.
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“There’s not as much debt on the property so they can lower rates by over half, 7 percent, off,” he said. “There’s always going to be that value travel tourist that wants that great deal.”