Figures up to July indicate that the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Serbia also enjoyed strong growth in tourism, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
- According to the 2022 annual opinion survey of foreign visitors, 99.1% said their travel expectations were met.
- The arrivals of non-resident passengers in January-August exceeded 5.5 million visitors by air, while more than 1.5 million passengers arrived by sea traveling on a total of 554 ships between January and August 2023.
Photo Foreign visitors appreciate the quality of Dominican beaches.
The expenditure in dollars made by tourists in the Dominican Republic reached an average of almost US $ 155 per day in the first eight months of this year, an important growth with respect to the pre-pandemic and a show of more arrivals with an adventurous spirit, according to the profile of visitors from 13 to 49 years of age and which predominates in more than 60% of travelers.
These figures become important at a time when the world economy has not yet fully emerged from the lags of the pandemic, with persistent inflation, as World Tourism Day is celebrated today.
The memorable date also shows that the majority of tourists traveling to the Dominican Republic come from North America, mainly the United States since more than 51% of American tourists come to the Caribbean country.
The arrivals of non-resident passengers in January-August exceeded 5.5 million visitors by air, while more than 1.5 million passengers arrived by sea traveling on a total of 554 ships between January and August 2023 through the ports of Santo Domingo (Don Diego-Ferry- and Sans Souci); Puerto Plata (Amber Cove, and Taíno Bay); La Romana, Catalina Island, Samaná, Cap Cana and Saona Island.
The Dominican Republic one of the main destinations of interest in the Latin American region, reports the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). According to the 2022 annual opinion survey of foreign visitors, 99.1% said their travel expectations were met.
According to the Central Bank (BCRD) publication, visitors also expressed the high quality of the Dominican beaches as the main motivation for their trip, followed by the hospitality of Dominicans, relationships with friends, and reasonable prices.
Other survey data indicate that 53.1% of tourists came through relationships with friends, 19.6% through Internet, 15.1% through travel agencies, and 12.2% came by other means.
The Central Bank also reports that in January-June 2022tourism activity (hotels, bars, and restaurants) showed an increase in its added value of 34.3%, while in the same period this year, hotels, bars, and restaurants reached a growth of 12.4%, and remains the activity with the highest individual contribution to economic growth in year-on-year terms.
For the period January-August of this year, the BCRD indicates that 65.8% of visitors come from North America, 14.2% from Europe, 13.7% from South America, 6% from Central America and the Caribbean, and the remaining 0.4% from Asia and the rest of the world.
UNWTO
Following a solid second quarter and the first part of the northern hemisphere summer season, data from the Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows that international tourism recovered 84% of pre-pandemic levels in the period January-July 2023 (-16% compared to 2019) and states that travel demand continued to show remarkable resilience and sustained recovery, amid geopolitical challenges.
However, it stresses that the economic factor remains important for effective recovery, due to persistent inflation and increases in oil prices, which affect the cost of accommodation, in addition to the pressure of high interests on family budgets, as this can affect long-distance travel, as well as the uncertainty of the Russian war.
UNWTO said several destinations reported double-digit growth in January-July 2023 compared to the same months in 2019, including Qatar (+95%), where arrivals almost doubled; Saudi Arabia (+58%), Albania (+56%), El Salvador (+32%), Armenia (+30%), Ethiopia (+28%), Jordan and Colombia (both +23%).
“Tanzania (+19%), Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Serbia (all +17%) also enjoyed strong growth through July,” says UNWTO.
Arrivals to the Americas reached 87% of 2019 figures this period, led by El Salvador (+32%), Colombia (+23%), Dominican Republic, and Honduras (both +17%), among other countries.
Morocco (+15%), Montenegro (+14%), Iceland (+13%), Guatemala (+12%), Portugal (+11%), the United Arab Emirates and French Polynesia (both +10%) also grew.
The destinations reporting the highest growth in international tourism receipts during the first six to seven months of 2023 were Pakistan (+115%), Albania (+82%), Montenegro (+77%), Türkiye (+75%), Romania (+76%), North Macedonia (+56%), Portugal (+40%), Ireland (+37%) and Colombia (+31%), among others.
DATA
• An estimated 700 million tourists traveled internationally between January and July 2023, around 43% more than in the same months of 2022, although 16% less than in 2019, says the UNWTO.
• By region, the Middle East performed best in January-July 2023, with arrivals up 20% at pre-pandemic levels. Europe, the largest destination region in the world, reached 91% of pre-pandemic levels, supported by solid intra-regional demand
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