Expectations today to see the arrival of the long-awaited 10 millionth visitor through the Punta Cana International Airport
The country will celebrate the arrival of the 10 millionth passenger, due to arrive through the Punta Cana International Airport, marking a milestone in the tourism sector, because not only is it an achievement that boosts the economy, it means the sector will close in 2023 with a remarkable performance.
Having ranked #2 among the countries with the highest tourist flow in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022 with the arrival of 7.16 million visitors, surpassed only by Mexico with 38.3 million, the Dominican Republic set its sights on a new record of 10 million by 2023.
“The Dominican Republic has ten million new friends just around the corner. And so today, if we add the number of tourists arriving by air to the number of cruise passengers, we have 9.9 million visitors who impacted our economy,” said the Minister of Tourism David Collado, on Saturday, December 23.
Top Tourist Receiving Countries in the Region, 2022
RD Increased Performance
The sector’s November report indicates that the combined arrival of tourists by air and sea amounted to 9,105,043 people between January-November 2023, placing the country at the top of the world’s best-performing destinations this year.
In fact, the statistics analyzed by Forwardkeys in its “Global Travel Trends Report 2023” highlight that the recovery of Creole tourism exceeds Mexican tourism in air arrivals, with 14% more than the flow recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic (2019).
Next on the list are Colombia and Mexico, both with 5%; followed by Greece (3%) and Saudi Arabia (0%), which had the same number of flights this year as those recorded in 2019.
Arrival of non-resident foreigners by air by region of residence
January-November 2023; in percentage (%)
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Air arrivals in numbers
When adding the flow of resident travelers with non-residents, the total arrival by air for January-November 2023 was 8,072,598 passengers, registering an increase of 13.5% with 957,585 more people compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to the Central Bank’s Department of National Accounts and Economic Statistics (Tourism Division), Punta Cana terminal received 67.6% of foreign air passengers, i.e., 4,090481 visitors during those 11 months.
“In fact, Punta Cana International Airport attracted 12.6% more tourists during the eleven months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022,” according to the Central Bank’s most recent tourism flow report.
In absolute terms, 1,192,719 passengers entered through Las Americas International Airport, 329,875 from Cibao, 284,772 from Puerto Plata, 61,610 from La Romana and 56,109 from El Catey de Samaná. Meanwhile, the La Isabela and María Montez terminals received a total of 32,549 non-resident foreigners.
Arrival of non-resident foreigners by air through the airport
January-November 2023; Share (%)
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Maritime Arrivals
In terms of maritime arrivals, as of November of this year 1,913,991 excursionists arrived at Dominican ports.
Arrivals by cruise ships and other types of vessels in November were 233,393 passengers. The ports of Amber Cove and Taino Bay, in Puerto Plata, were the busiest, receiving 101,013 and 64,184 foreigners, respectively.
On December 19, five transatlantic cruise ships docked at Puerto Plata’s maritime terminals, with a total of 27,313 visitors, including passengers and crew members.
Arrival of non-resident aliens by air by age
January-November 2023; in percentage (%)
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Contributions to GDP
Tourism added $22.19 billion worth of value to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, up 19%.
The data is detailed in the study titled “Impact of the tourism sector on the Dominican Republic” a study carried out by the firm Analytica and the Dominican Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores), indicating that 50% of the value added (US$ 11,171 million) was generated through the consumption of employees in the tourism industry.
Meanwhile, 35% was directed to the sale of goods and services in the sector, equivalent to 7,692 million dollars.
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