SANTO DOMINGO — The Dominican Republic has confirmed that it will proceed with two major initiatives that will ease entry requirements and attract travellers for the coming winter months.

Both initiatives were first announced in late August. The D.R. will eliminate its mandatory negative COVID-19 test result upon entry. The destination is also launching a new protection plan for hotel guests.

Both new initiatives, which were announced by Minister of Tourism David Collado, will go into effect on Sept. 15 as part of the country’s Responsible Tourism Recovery Plan.

In lieu of mandatory pre-testing, which was initially implemented on July 30, the destination will now be administering non-invasive breath tests at airports, at random to foreign visitors upon entry.

In addition, visitors who enter the country from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31, 2020 will be offered a new traveller assistance plan upon check-in at their hotel. The plan includes emergencies in the event of infection of COVID-19.

Collado, who said that the country’s Tourism Recover Plan “includes measures that no country in the region currently has,” has been working with various sectors on finalizing details of the plan’s new provisions and sanitary protocols. These include verifying bed availability and hospital conditions in the country’s main tourist centres, and fine-tuning logistics for the management of potential outbreaks.

Additionally, on Sept. 15, the Ministry of Public Health will publish a special report for tourist centres on contagions and casualties related to COVID-19.

For more information on the Dominican Republic’s entry and safety protocols click here.