In 2023, the Dominican Republic ranked as the tenth country with the best performance in tourist arrivals by air, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Published in the “World Tourism Barometer” report, the data indicate that Quisqueya registered a 24% growth in its air arrivals, becoming the main destination chosen by passengers in the Caribbean last year.
The multilateral organization also indicates that the Dominican Republic was the third country in the world with the best growth performance in this area in 2023 when compared to the results obtained in 2019, only behind Saudi Arabia and Albania.
- The Turks and Caicos Islands was the destination that led the growth in tourist arrivals by air in 2023, with 127%. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Albania followed, with increases of 90%, 56%, and 53%, respectively.
El Salvador was in fifth place, with a 40% growth, and Colombia in sixth, with a 33% increase in air. These were the only two South American countries that registered significant growth in this region.
“In 2023, arrivals in the Americas reached 90% of 2019 numbers. The strong travel trend from the US especially benefited destinations in the Caribbean and Central America,” UNWTO stresses.
More than 2.3 million
The Ministry of Tourism echoed these figures during its monthly press conference, forecasting that more than 2.3 million air passengers could be visiting the Dominican Republic between January and March of this year, 11% more than in 2023 when 1,714,948 tourists arrived in the country.
732,229:
Number of tourists who arrived in the Dominican Republic by air in January 2024
Dominican airports have already registered the entry of 742,229 non-resident foreigners during January alone, for an increase of 10%, with more than 144,000 more travelers than in January 2023.
Tourists traveled on 5,752 coordinated commercial flights from 125 airlines operating 317 routes. The main country of departure to the Dominican Republic in that month was the United States, with 49%, followed by Canada (14%), Puerto Rico (5%), Panama (4%) and Colombia (4%).
U.S. Market
The authorities have concentrated their advertising efforts on encouraging more travelers from the American continent to choose Quisqueya as their next destination, a strategy that has worked, so far.
“We saw that the European market was going downwards as a result of inflation and the war between Russia and Ukraine. We focused our efforts on the United States, which has a 39% share, for a 20% growth, and that was where the strategy lay,” Collado said.
He also spoke of the focus on Colombia and that “great efforts” are being made to captivate Argentines. Although they only have a 4% share, so far, a 10% increase has been achieved in this segment.
More than a million visitors
A total of 1,053,983 visitors arrived in the Dominican Republic in January, an increase of 11% compared to last year, reported Tourism Minister, David Collado, following a 17% growth in cruise ship arrivals, with 321,754 cruise passengers through 93 maritime operations. Of this number, 277,076 people were cruise passengers, 112,325 were crew members and 1,659 docked aboard a ferry. Amber Cove, Taino Bay, and La Romana remain the leading ports for sea arrivals.
“We’re seeing a strong start to 2024,” Collado said of the results at the press conference organized every month by the Ministry of Tourism.
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