Dominican Republic 'Safe'

[HW Chris]

TOURISM chiefs in the Dominican Republic have reassured agents resort areas are unaffected after floods killed more than 2,000 people last week.

More than 13,000 people have been made homeless after floods and mudslides hit villages either side of the border with Haiti. At least 1,600 are confirmed dead in Haiti and 300 in the Dominican Republic, with hundreds more still missing.

Assistant director of the Dominican Republic Tourist Board Gustavo Candelario insisted vital services such as roads, water and electricity were working as normal and the rain, which lasted almost two weeks, had now stopped.

�We've been reassuring clients their holidays can continue as planned. It was a terrible tragedy, but it happened because villagers had built houses in a dried-up river bed. The tourist regions are unaffected.�

Operators with significant Dominican Republic programmes, such as Airtours and Thomson, said they had received very few calls from holidaymakers.

source: travelweekly.co.uk