Tourism Minister David Collado reported that 3,547,142 tourists visited the country in the first half of this year, bringing in around US$4 billion to the national economy.
SANTO DOMINGO – In its traditional monthly report, the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) reported yesterday that, as of the end of June, the country generated $739 million from the arrival of 644,861 foreign tourists, while registering over 71% hotel occupancy and an average stay of ten days.
David Collado, Minister of MITUR, explained during his presentation that this number of tourists represents a growth of 9.9% more than that recorded in the same period of 2018 and 9.8% higher than that of 2019.
“Dominican tourism continues to break historical records, while other countries in the region have not yet recovered and are announcing hotel closures, as is the case in Panama,” Collado said.
“And as proof is needed, I tell you that this past June, we received more tourists than in the same month of 2018, 2019 and 2021. That is why we can say with complete certainty that we achieved the best month of June in the entire history of tourism,” he stated.
In providing the details, Collado highlighted the sustained growth that the tourism sector has experienced in the first six months of this year and attributes part of the industry's overall recovery to the efforts of the public and private sectors.
The Minister of Tourism pointed out that the sustained growth in visitor arrivals is not only due to air travel, but also to maritime arrivals. "72,689 cruise ship passengers visited us in June, representing a 25 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019," the official stated.
The airports that received the largest flow of visitors were Punta Cana and Las Américas.
Hotel occupancy
Jacqueline Mora, technical vice-minister of Mitur, referred to the hotel sector, highlighting that hotel occupancy exceeds 71% in general terms and the average stay is 10 days.
The average length of stay for tourists used to be three to four days, but there has been a change in that pattern, the official said, adding that guests no longer just stay in hotels, but visit other areas near where they are staying.
He asserted that there is a diversification of the tourism offerings and that thanks to this, the country has become more attractive to people seeking to practice specific activities such as hiking.
Regarding the access route for visitors, he noted that the airports that received the greatest flow were those of Punta Cana and Las Américas, and highlighted that the one in Puerto Plata has had a significant recovery.
Eighty-six percent of the occupancy was by foreigners, while 14% corresponded to nationals. Bayahibe had the highest occupancy rate at 83.5% during the month of June; followed by Punta Cana with 76%, Samaná 64%, Santiago 63.3%, Greater Santo Domingo 57.7%, Boca Chica-Juan Dolio 48.9%, Puerto Plata 47%, and Sosúa-Cabarete 39%.
