Dominican Republic: record tourism with 8.5 million visitors in 2022


The beaches of the Dominican Republic, and in particular those of the seaside resort of Punta Cana, attract millions of tourists each year (AFP/Archives/Erika SANTELICES)

The Dominican Republic, whose economy is largely based on tourism, had a record year 2022 with 8.5 million visitors, surpassing pre-pandemic figures, authorities said Thursday.

Some 7.2 million people arrived by plane and 1.3 million by boat, according to figures from the Ministry of Tourism presented in the presence of Dominican President Luis Abinader.

That’s 3.2 million more than in 2021, when the industry was beginning to recover from the sharp drop caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which claimed more than 4,000 lives in the 10.5 Caribbean country. millions of inhabitants.

But, above all, it is better than the 7.5 million tourists in 2019. In 2020, the number of visitors had fallen to 3 million.

“Our country is open, ready to give its best and show the world what we already know, which is that we are a little piece of heaven on Earth,” the president said.

“These figures were reached under the worst of circumstances, in a hostile international environment. We were able not only to withstand the impact of Covid-19 and the effects of the economic crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine, but we have succeeded in positioning our country on a more competitive map in the entire Caribbean and Latin American region”, he continued.

Tourism represents 15% of Dominican GDP.

Of the total number of tourists arriving by air in 2022, 5.8 million were foreigners or non-resident Dominicans, while 1.4 million were local travelers.

The government has said it wants to exceed these figures in 2023.

In 2022, foreign tourists came mainly from the United States (32%), Canada (16%) and Colombia (5%).

During the pandemic, the government had launched a campaign to attract Russian and Ukrainian tourists. Some 50,000 tourists from this area visited this country each month until the start of the war. Some 14,000 Russian tourists and 1,900 Ukrainian tourists were stranded in the Dominican Republic when hostilities began.

© 2023 AFP

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