The frequency of the Dominican Republic as a destination country in the Caribbean and Mexican tourist market increased during 2023, reaching a 12.03% share with air and land tourist arrivals.
According to data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), this means an expansion of 1.9 percentage points compared to 2010, when the share was 10.13%.
The technical Deputy Minister of Tourism, Jacqueline Mora, pointed out that the country – which attracted 10,306,517 visitors between January and December 2023 – has maintained a “stable” position in the region’s tourism market.
She indicated that Dominican tourism has performed above the world industry’s average, an industry which is still suffering the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic which paralyzed operations three years ago.
“When the world was at 4.9% growth in 2019, the Dominican Republic was a little below that at 4.6%. When the world is at -3.7% growth in 2023, the Dominican grows by 4.9%,” Mora said.
306,517: The number of visitors the country received above the expected target of 10 million in 2023.
Tourist Flow
Tourism Minister, David Collado, highlighted that the Dominican Republic exceeded the 10 million visitor goal at the end of December by a staggering 300,000, with 8,058,670 air passengers and 2,247,172 passengers arriving by sea.
So, the number of visitors increased by 21.6% compared to 2022 and 36.5% compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic) when the number of visitors was just 7,549,934.
Of this total, 1,194,742 visitors arrived in December alone – 867,570 tourists and 327,172 cruise passengers – making it the first time that the Dominican Republic received more than one million travelers in a month.
The USA and Canada were the main countries of origin of tourists, with 43% and 16%, respectively, followed by Colombia (7%), Spain (5%) and Puerto Rico (4%).
Punta Cana had the highest number of visitors with 42%, followed by the city of Santo Domingo (18%), Puerto Plata (12%) and La Romana (11%).
This significantly impacted hotel activity, which maintained a high occupancy rate throughout the year, averaging 73% in 2023, of which 89% of overnight stays were foreigners.
In addition, the institution highlights that most tourists carry out activities outside the hotels, impacting the economy of the places where they spend the night.
2024 Forecast
2024 promises to get off to a good start in attracting more visitors. According to tourism intelligence firm ForwardKeys, airline ticket bookings to the Dominican Republic will increase by 6.6% in January 2024.
In addition, a 16.5% growth in ticket bookings is expected in March of this year, an average that exceeds that foreseen by competing countries such as Mexico (4.2%) and the Bahamas (7.2%).
The company estimates that the Dominican Republic could be the only country where flights increase by April 2024, a month where the main Caribbean competitors are expected to see a decrease, especially Jamaica (-38.4%), Bahamas (-20.4%) and Cuba (-19.7%).
This is relevant for the airport industry, which as of December 2023 registered 66,493 commercial flights from the USA, Puerto Rico, Canada, Colombia, and Venezuela, with an occupancy rate of 77%.
A good time to invest.
During the presentation of tourism statistics, President Luis Abinader highlighted that the Dominican Republic is “at its best” for investments. We have greater recognition from the entire international community and more control over many elements, including security,” he emphasized.
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