The number of tourists arriving in Dominican Republic reached the record figure of 621,953 visitors, exceeding the same month in 2019 by 124,563 visitors, when arrivals of non-residents were reported as 497,390.
Add to these figures the 94,792 cruise passengers who visited the country in August for a total of 716,745 visitors in August between tourists and day-trippers.
Arrival of tourists by air in August
Tourism Minister David Collado reported that, between January and August this year, the country received 4,904,162 tourists and 755,818 day-trippers, which promises to be the best year in the history of Dominican tourism in terms of visitor arrivals.
He pointed out that in eight months, Dominicans were visited by 5,655,980 people. Of the 621,953 visitors in August, 502,289 were foreigners and 199,674 Dominicans.
The arrival of foreigners in August represents a growth of 27% compared to 2019 and 11% compared to 2018.
The arrival of tourist by air last month marks a record, exceeding 2018, when 537,576 arrived and 2019 with the visit of 497,390.
Sights were set on receiving 7 million tourists for these years, more than 70% of whom have already arrived in the country, leaving a little more than 2 million for the remaining four months of 2022.
The best year for Dominican tourism
According to Central Bank data, the year with the highest number of tourist visits was 2018, with a total of 6,568,888 non-foreigners. Between January and August of that year, the cumulative number of arrivals was 4,644,049, which was 5.6% less than in 2022.
Arrival of tourists (in millions)
Preliminary figures from the Central Bank suggested that tourism revenues would reach US$7,610.4 million, a growth of 6.0%, an additional US$432.9 million compared to 2017. But the forecasts fell short by US$49.7 million, with a final total of US$7,560.7 million.
Contributions to the economy
The tourism sector in the Dominican Republic has had a direct impact on the country’s economic growth, accounting for over 8% of the GDP in 2019, in addition to being one of the sectors with the highest job creation rate.
Tourism earnings 2010-2019
Between 2010 and 2019, the arrival of visitors has meant foreign exchange earnings of more than US$58,000 million. In that same period, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in tourism reached US$4,911.0 million, equivalent to 19.4% of the total received in these years, according to the Central Bank.
Revamping tourism
The Dominican Republic is known for its holiday destinations, all-inclusive hotels, white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters. The new commitment by the authorities to attract more foreign tourists and motivate domestic tourism is to diversify the country’s attractions.
The Ministry of Tourism is currently improving the various beaches around the county and recently launched the “Tourism in every corner” initiative aimed at integrating community groups in cultural and gastronomic activities, crafts, ecotourism, and complementary community attractions.
Source:
Bloomberg Línea
