Some 3,000 Ukrainian tourists are stranded in the Dominican Republic without the possibility of returning to their country as air connections have been canceled after the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s honorary consul in the Caribbean country, Ilona Oleksandrivna, told Efe yesterday.
Some 1,200 of those tourists do not have accommodation, a figure that will increase as the days go by, when their hotel reservations run out, Oleksandrivna said.
Most of those 3,000 Ukrainian citizens are in the tourist hub of Bávaro and Punta Cana, in the east of the Dominican Republic.
The honorary consul, who asked for help for those compatriots who “have nowhere to live”, is in Santo Domingo waiting to be received by members of the Dominican Government, to whom she will ask for help.
Two-thirds of the Ukrainians, about 2,000, arrived in the Caribbean country with packages from the Russian tour operator Anex Tour, which according to the consul has not provided help to travelers.
The Dominican authorities for the moment have not provided data on the number of Ukrainian citizens who are stranded in the country.
The Dominican Republic received at least 6,324 Ukrainian tourists in February, according to partial data from the Ministry of Tourism.
In January, 11,330 Ukrainian travelers were counted and in the calculation of last year there were 85,912 tourists from the European country.
Since the Russian invasion began five days ago, Ukrainians in the Dominican Republic have held several demonstrations against the war, in tourist areas such as Punta Cana and Las Terrenas (northeast). In Samaná the Ukrainians have raised the cries “Long live Ukraine”. They have taken to the streets carrying the flags of their country and posters against the war.
