SANTO DOMINGO. -The Dominican Republic continues to make steady progress towards its goal of exceeding 11 million visitors by the end of the year, reaching the arrival of more than 10,005,800 people this Monday, for the second year in a row.
This was announced by President Luis Abinader and the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, as they led an event at a hotel in the capital, where representatives from the various sectors involved in the tourism industry participated.
When reviewing the sector's performance so far this year, Abinader highlighted the impact that tourism has on the Dominican economy and on job creation.
He assured that by the end of this year the 11 million visitor mark will be broken.
The president said he was very optimistic about tourism and confirmed that work is underway to strengthen existing destinations and encourage new ones.
For his part, Collado reported that in November alone the country received 881,499, a 54% increase compared to the same month in 2019, 15% higher than in 2022 and 2% higher than last year.
He indicated that last month the country received 667,450 passengers by air, representing a 44% increase compared to November of last year, 17% compared to 2022 and 5% compared to 2023.
He stated that the country received 214,454 cruise passengers by sea, 93% more than in November 2019 and 10% higher than in 2022.
The official guaranteed that incentives for the tourism sector will be maintained, due to the sector's sustained growth.
The president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism (ASONAHORES), David Llibre, indicated that to date more than 4,500 commercial flights have been registered with a hotel occupancy rate of 76%.
He also noted that there are currently 400 hotels in the country with more than 84,000 rooms.
As part of the activity, the president and Collado presented awards to several institutions and personalities.
Banco Popular Dominicano, Banco de Reservas and BHD each received plaques for their contributions to the development of tourism.
Also recognized was businessman Frank Rainieri, considered a pioneer of Dominican tourism.
It is worth remembering that the tourism industry generates more than 720,000 jobs directly, indirectly and through induced effects, representing 18% of the country's employment.
