The Dominican Republic received over 7 million tourists throughout its summer season,
predominantly from the United States, Canada, and Spain
SANTO DOMINGO – As the Caribbean’s summer season draws to a close, the Dominican Republic celebrates another highly successful year as a top tourist destination. It has continued to exceed its annual tourism forecasts, welcoming 7 million visitors in the first three quarters of the year – a 25% increase over 2022.
Just over 782,000 tourists visited the country in August, making it the best one in Dominican history. The Caribbean nation is now South America’s second-largest tourist destination, setting a clear benchmark for its neighbors.
Based on past trends and experiences, the Dominican Ministry of Tourism expects to welcome 10 million visitors by the end of the year. This would make 2023 the first time in its history that it has hit double-digits, nearly reaching a one-to-one ratio of tourists to citizens.
ForwardKeys, a leading tourism trend analysis firm, supports this bright outlook as well. Its most recent airline ticketing trends suggest Q4 will see significant growth throughout the Caribbean when compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. The Dominican Republic is predicted to show the highest growth, at 54%. In fact, the Dominican Republic has shown the most post-pandemic tourism growth of any nation in the Americas, with 2023 showing strong signs of achieving a 10% increase over 2019.
The firm’s results also confirm that the United States, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom are responsible for a combined total of 81% of tourism to the Dominican Republic in 2023 thus far. Hotel occupancy data confirms this, with visitors staying an average of eight days.
While air travel remains the method of choice for reaching the island nation, the cruise segment made a strong showing in the first few months of the year and has remained a key element of the Dominican Republic’s current numbers. Over 1.5 million people YTD have traveled through the country’s ports, such as Puerto Plata and La Romana. Starting in December, the new destination of Pedernales will be open as well.
A safe, hospitable destination
“The summer is always an interesting benchmark for our country,” shared Dominican Tourism Minister David Collado. “Based on our current numbers, we’re heading for a new milestone. Summer is always a popular travel season with many attractive options – such as many European countries. But despite the competition, the Dominican Republic has remained a preferred destination for travelers from both Europe and North America. Clearly, in addition to our warm climate, our security and great hospitality make us an attractive tourist destination.”
The country’s dynamic and growing tourism sector has retaken its place as a key pillar of the Dominican economy in the post-pandemic world, thanks largely to the foreign currency it brings in and the jobs it creates. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the Dominican tourism sector will generate 17.5% of national employment and represent 15.3% of its economy by the end of 2023. And, as the sector’s supply chain is almost entirely (90%) made up of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), its success and power are reflected in the country’s local businesses as well.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
