- More than eight million visitors arrived in the country between January and August.
- The increase was 2.8% compared to the same period in 2024.
Tourist flow from Latin America continues to grow.
The Dominican Republic welcomed 8,005,227 visitors between January and August of this year, representing a 2.8% increase compared to the 7,790,809 passengers who arrived by air and sea during the same period last year.
This resulted from the arrival of 6,085,053 passengers by air—2% above January-August 2024—and 1,920,204 by sea—showing a 5% growth compared to the same period, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
In August alone, 707,175 tourists and 100,238 cruise passengers were in the country, a 0.7% decrease, primarily due to declines in passengers from the United States (-1%) and Canada (-11%), the two main source markets for the country.
Regarding this, Tourism Minister David Collado assured that “we had never before reached” 700,000 tourists in a single month like August, which also marks the beginning of the low season.
More Latin Americans
Tourist flow from Latin America continues to grow: of the total air arrivals in August, 111,796 were travelers from South America, accounting for 16% of the total, with a 24% year-on-year increase compared to August of the previous year.
Argentinians are the travelers most eager to visit Quisqueya: 10,556 non-resident foreigners from Argentina arrived, a 56% increase compared to August 2024, representing 26% of the total.
Following them were Colombians (29% more traveling to the country), Brazilians (12% more), Peruvians (19%), and Puerto Ricans (2%). In contrast, arrivals from Chile decreased by 7% in August.
Flights on the rise
This has been supported by a growth of 6,010 flights in August—596 more than in the previous August, when 5,414 flights were recorded—with an occupancy rate of 80%, each transporting an average of 136 passengers. Thus, the country has received a total of 47,622 flights since January.
Twenty-six percent of the flights in August were booked through JetBlue, 11% through American Airlines, and 8% via Copa Airlines.
The airline Arajet experienced the greatest growth last month, with a 107% increase, making it the sixth most demanded airline overall and accounting for 6% of all flights.
Hotel Occupancy
All of this generated dynamism in the hotel sector, which recorded an average occupancy of 69%.
Tourist hotspots such as Bayahíbe-La Romana (78%), Bávaro-Punta Cana (74%), Samaná-Las Terrenas (63%), and Juan Dolio-Boca Chica (61%) stand out.
An emerging tourist hub is Miches, which recorded a hotel occupancy of 58% this month, higher than other destinations such as Santo Domingo (51%), Barahona (46%), or Sosúa-Cabarete (41%).
Orderly Development in Verón
Tourism Minister David Collado assured yesterday that the land-use plan for the Verón municipal district in La Altagracia province will be published “in less than 60 days” as part of the efforts undertaken by the institution he leads to ensure that tourism activities are increasingly sustainable.
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