SANTO DOMINGO- The month of November concluded with a hotel occupancy rate of 72.4%, which, compared to 63.7% in October, represents an increase in the number of visitors to these accommodations.
Romana-Bayahibe remains in the lead as the destination with the highest occupancy rate at 81.9%; in second place is Bávaro-Punta Cana with 76.2% and in third position is Greater Santo Domingo with 70.4% occupancy.
Samaná with 66.3% ranked fourth last November, followed by Santiago de los Caballeros with 65.4%, then Sosua-Cabarete with 61.2%, Puerto Plata with 54.8% and Boca Chica-Juan Dolio with 46.7%, according to data recorded by the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic.
Statistics show that July was the month with the highest hotel occupancy this year at 76%, followed by February at 75.4%. In August, hotels across the country saw a visitor occupancy rate of 74.4%, in April 73.7%, November 72.4%, March 72.2%, January 71%, June 70.4%, May 67.4%, October 63.7%, and September 60%.
The Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) states in its records that 88% of hotel visitors are foreigners, while 12% are local tourists.
Year-end projection
In his usual monthly report on tourist arrivals to the Dominican Republic, Tourism Minister David Collado projected that 800,000 tourists could arrive in the country this December, representing a 23% increase over 2019.
He reported that 571,354 tourists arrived in the country last month, 476,647 foreigners and 94,707 non-resident Dominicans.
“With the arrival of Dominicans residing outside the country, we registered a growth of 20 percent compared to November 2019, and with the visit of foreigners, we exceeded 12 percent growth,” said the Minister of Tourism.
Cruise ship passengers increase
He also highlighted the growth in cruise ship arrivals, with 195,270 visitors recorded in November, compared to 111,128 in the same month of 2019.
In the period January-November, 1,085,606 cruise ship passengers arrived in the country, compared to the 948,118 who visited us in the same period of 2019.
“If we add up the 571,354 tourists who arrived by air and the 195,270 who came via cruise ships, we're talking about the historic figure of 766,624 visitors in the month of January. If that isn't a record, then I don't know what is,” the official asked at the press conference.
Likewise, Collado highlighted that in the first eleven months of this year the Dominican Republic received 6,397,444 visitors by air, as well as another 1,085,606 excursionists, which represents the visit of 7,483,050 people in the January-November period.
