The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, said that the sector has recovered completely, disclosing that, during the month of March, the country received 617,756 non-resident visitors, 229% above March 2019, and 197% more than the same period in 2018.
“84% of these non-resident visitors are of foreign origin, and the remaining 16% Dominican. This result means that the first quarter of 2022 closes at 1,714,947 non-residents, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic,” the official said, when presenting the figures during a press conference at the Embajador hotel in Santo Domingo.
Based on this performance, Minister Collado also forecast that this year will close with the record annual arrival of more than seven million tourists.
“I can say here and now and with full certainty, that tourism in the Dominican Republic has recovered in its entirety and that it is strong, solid and mature,” Collado said, when offering the statistical data, together with Deputy Technical Minister, Jacqueline Mora.
Data breakdown
Minister Collado said that 71% of the non-residents who visited the country came from North America and the Caribbean, and 19% from Europe.
53% of the month’s visitors were between 21 and 49 years old. Viewed by segment, 23% of foreign tourists were globe trotters, 29% adult, 32% family and 16% senior. Six out of 10 tourists stayed in hotels.
With average stays of 7 nights, an estimated US$ 690 million was generated in foreign exchange derived from tourist spending.
61% of this month’s influx of visitors entered through the Punta Cana airport, 22% through Las Americas, 10% through Santiago, 5% through Puerto Plata, 1% through La Romana, and the rest through Samaná airport.
Tourist satisfaction during March 2022 was 4.4 out of 5 stars and 93% of respondents said they would return to the Dominican Republic. 87% of respondents expressed high satisfaction with Dominican beaches.
Airspace
Preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Tourism suggest a total of 5,100 incoming commercial flights to the Dominican Republic in March 2022, with an occupancy of 76% on more than 200 routes, connecting us with 159 cities through 160 different airlines.
Hotel activity
In March 2022, 9 out of 10 hotel rooms were operating, and of these, 72% were occupied. 90% of guests were foreign. The recovery of the hotel industry has been a widespread phenomenon throughout the country, improving between 10 and 40 percentage points, the room occupancy rate in the various tourist areas in the country showed a visible improvement compared to March 2021. Head of the list is Romana – Bayahíbe where the hotel occupancy rate was 85% vs 41% in March 2021.
Maritime arrivals
In the first month of 2022, 111,731 cruise passengers (excluding cabotage) and 1,497 ferry passengers disembarked. Considering the crew and cabotage, arrivals by sea to the Dominican Republic in March 2022 were 207,934 passengers, in 97 operations through 68 cruise ships (from 38 different cruise lines) and 14 ferries.
Maritime operations were distributed between Amber Cove (25%), Taíno Bay (25%), La Romana (22%), Catalina Island (6%), Samaná (6%), and the rest in Santo Domingo (18%).
2022 Estimates
Air ticket reservations to travel to the Dominican Republic during the remainder of 2022 are 8.9% above bookings made at the same time in 2019.
“We are expecting the arrival of more than 7 million non-residents throughout this year. The next few quarters will considerably exceed the records in 2019,” said Minister Collado.
Source:
Ministry of Tourism
