SANTO DOMINGO- ASONAHORES, the Dominican Republic's Hotel and Tourism Association, reported that for the recently concluded Holy Week 2023, the average hotel occupancy rate was over 90%, representing an increase of 16 percentage points compared to last year.
This figure also exceeds the hotel occupancy rate in a similar period prior to the pandemic, which was around 74 percent.
According to David Llibre, president of the association, local tourists accounted for 25% of that occupancy, and he assured that a final report on tourist activity and the areas with the highest occupancy will be released this week.
Tourism
Similarly, the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) said that hotel occupancy in the country's tourist destinations exceeded 95% during the Easter holiday, with the East being the area that received the largest number of visitors.
The agency also reported that more than 180,000 foreign tourists arrived in the country to spend the Easter holiday.
“Tourists from all over the world traveled to the Dominican Republic to enjoy this Holy Week, filling the renowned beaches and hotels in the different destinations,” the entity said in a press release.
From Puerto Plata, several hotel chains and the Ministry of Tourism itself reported that the hotel and tourist complexes were full of vacationers during the holiday.
“Holy Week is one of the most anticipated holidays for those who visit the country, as it allows for a break from both work and school life, increasing family vacation time,” added the Tourism Department.
He explained that, as is tradition, coastal destinations have been the most visited these days, as is the case in the East and Northeast areas.
“However, a significant number of visitors were also observed in the provinces of the Southern Region, such as Barahona and Pedernales,” he said.
The operation
The Dominican government deployed more than 40,000 men and women from different state security institutions, with the aim of preventing any incidents, especially in tourist destinations, as a result of the increase in people arriving to enjoy the country's natural beauty.
The Ministries of Tourism, Defense, the National Police and other institutions supported the preventive operation “Conscience for Life Holy Week 2023”, which was deployed by the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) at the national level.
For the event, led by the Tourism Cabinet and coordinated by the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, the surveillance agencies provided all available personnel to guarantee the safety of citizens and tourists in the rivers, beaches, spas and mountains.
Collado visited the destinations
During the holiday, David Collado toured the country's main beaches and resorts. On Holy Saturday, he visited the beaches of La Romana and resorts in the South, such as Las Marías in Neiba, Bahoruco province.
He also visited Los Patos and El Quemaíto beaches in Barahona, which were recently renovated by the Ministry of Tourism.
2023 Expectations
This year, record numbers of tourists are expected to arrive in the country, just as happened in 2022, which reached more than 8 million visitors by air and cruise ship.
“Taking this into account, the Dominican Government has been strengthening tourist destinations in terms of security and infrastructure, as is the case with the beaches of Macao, Caleta and Guayacanes, Los Patos, El Quemaíto, Saladilla, Galeras, Las Terrenas and others,” Mitur stated in a press release.
