- 1.3 million visitors arrived in the country in March alone
The Ministry of Tourism said (recently) that Dominican tourism has kept its stable position in the Caribbean, “without any sign” of being affected by the global crisis resulting from the war between the United States and Israel against Iran – a conflict that has increased fuel prices and is already having repercussions on the cost of air tickets globally.
Presenting the statistics at a press conference, Minister David Collado said that the country received 1,305,866 visitors in March alone, a growth of 14.0% compared to the 1,145,798 visitors registered last March.
Thus, the Dominican Republic accumulated 3,710,374 visitor arrivals between January and March 2026, an increase of 10.8% compared to the first quarter of 2025, according to the Ministry of Tourism, who highlighted that more than 1.4 million travelers entered the country compared to 2019, a pre-pandemic year.
Of that total, 2,603,777 tourists travelled by air in the first three months of 2026, 12.2% more than in the first three months of 2025. On the other hand, cruise ship arrivals totaled 1,106,597, an increase of 7.6% compared to the same period last year.
“When (airlines) look at the Caribbean, they see the Dominican Republic as solid, with political and economic stability, and with a clearly growing tourism industry; all this is helping us,” Collado said, referring to whether the effects of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran had impacted the local industry.
He said that, on the contrary, more airlines are interested in increasing their flights to the country. In fact, March alone registered 7,058 flights, 553 more than in March of last year (when there were 6,505 flights), an increase of 8.5%.
The Dominican Republic totaled 19,840 flights between January and March of this year, an increase of 10.8%.
Short-haul flights
Collado explained that the institution he heads has been based on a strategy of strengthening short-haul flights with the closest destinations in North and South America, in case long-haul flights, especially from Europe, begin to be affected because of the rise in oil costs.
“So far we are doing well; we are taking advantage of situations that are happening in the Caribbean with other countries and taking advantage of how solid the Dominican tourism industry is in in the face of this crisis,” he said.
Arrival of passengers
Of the 1,305,866 visitors who arrived in March, 953,758 were air passengers, 16.9% more than in 2025. 831,998 of these were foreigners and 121,760 were native Dominicans. Thus, Dominican tourism has experienced four consecutive months above the 800,000-tourist milestone in terms of the air segment.
The country’s air terminals welcomed 953,758 passengers, 16.9% more than in 2025, of which 831,998 were foreigners and 121,760 were native Dominicans. Thus, Dominican tourism has been reflecting four consecutive months above the barrier of 800,000 tourists in the air segment.
Although 45% of passengers came from the United States and 23% from Canada (adding 34,050 and 27,114 more tourists from these two destinations alone), Latin America continues to expand its share. March saw more tourists arriving from Colombia and Mexico, both markets with a growth of 62% compared to March 2025, followed by Peru (31%) and Argentina (20%).
Also noteworthy is the recovery of European markets such as Germany, which increased by 36% in March alone, followed by France and the United Kingdom, receiving 17% more air passengers.
Regionally, North America accounted for 72% of foreign visitors in March, followed by South America (13%) and Europe (11%), while Central America and the Caribbean contributed 4%, marking the weight of the North American market in the tourist flow to the country.
Airports by numbers
64% of air arrivals in March (612,239 tourists) flew into Punta Cana Airport, followed by Las Américas, with 18% (173,384) and Cibao, with 9% (85,672).
6% of air passengers entered through Puerto Plata Airport (58,552), while La Romana and Samaná both registered 1% of arrivals, with 12,667 and 9,680 passengers, respectively.
In terms of connectivity, the country registered 19,840 flights in the first quarter, reflecting an increase of 10.8% compared to 2025.
Thanks to this influx, overall hotel occupancy hovered around 86% in March, while occupancy at resorts reached 91%.
Arrival of cruise passengers
In March, 352,108 cruise passengers arrived in the country – a record for this month with over 350,000 passengers – showing a growth of 8.1% compared to 2025 and up to 213.7% compared to 2019, Collado emphasized.
During that period, Taíno Bay port received 47% of cruise arrivals (166,141 passengers), followed by Amber Cove with 29% (103,758) and La Romana, with 12% (43,520).
Meanwhile, Samaná and Isla Catalina both received 3% of passenger arrivals by sea (with 11,795 and 10,606, respectively) while Cabo Rojo and Santo Domingo both accounted for 2% of arrivals (with 8,214 and 8,074 cruise passengers).
Source:
