For his part, the president of the Dominican Republic's Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores), Rafael Blanco Tejera, said that the regulations will be the same as those required of any hotel. That is, it will have to comply with its tax obligations and the safety requirements and guarantees established by the Ministry of Tourism. 

SANTODOMINGO – David Collado stated yesterday that platforms offering short-term rental accommodations should pay taxes in the country, noting that Airbnb has 53,000 rooms rented through its system. He said that regulating real estate tourism is among his priorities in his management plan.

The Dominican Republic's tourism minister believes that real estate tourism should continue to be promoted, but with regulation. He shared his views during his presentation yesterday on tourism growth in the first quarter of 2022.

“The same plan, the same documentation, and the same process that the DGII (General Directorate of Internal Taxes) is carrying out are part of the vision. Today we have 53,000 rooms listed on Airbnb and these platforms, which we understand should continue to be encouraged, but they must pay taxes,” he said.

For his part, the president of the Dominican Republic's Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores), Rafael Blanco Tejera, said that the regulations will be the same as those required of any hotel. That is, it will have to comply with its tax obligations and the safety requirements and guarantees established by the Ministry of Tourism. 

“The DGII has already sent the draft bill out for public comment; that process has concluded. It is understood that the DGII is evaluating all the opinions it received so that it can formalize the regulations,” stated the Asonahores executive. 

Lower airline tickets

Collado also explained that his main priorities include lowering airfare prices between countries connected to the Dominican Republic, as well as regulating tourism in the nation.

“We understand that these are the challenges we have to overcome to be much more competitive and to reach the numbers that we believe the Dominican Republic should reach annually, which is to surpass the seven million tourist, as will happen in 2022,” Collado said.

Statistics March 2022

In the first three months of 2022, 1,714,947 non-resident people arrived in the Dominican Republic, the highest number since the start of the pandemic, according to Minister Collado.

He explained that, with the reactivation of tourists from Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Argentina, among other sources, during the third month of the year 617,756 non-residents were received, for 229% above March 2020 and 197% above March 2021.

“Today, I can say here with complete certainty, as Minister of Tourism and coordinator of the Cabinet of the same, that tourism in the Dominican Republic has fully recovered,” he stated while presenting the results of the sector.

He added that 84% of non-resident visitors between January and March 2022 were of foreign origin and the remaining 16% were of Dominican origin.