Dominican Republic tourism grows 6.5%, income tops US$3.4B in first half

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s tourism industry obtainedstaggering figures in the first half of 2016, according to a photo-chart postedon the Presidency’s website.

"At our current pace we will reach the goal of 10million tourists per year sooner than expected," the government’s Departmentof Communications (DICOM) says in the text accompanying the graphics.

In the first half this year 3,043,154 tourists visited thecountry, for a growth of 6.5%, the government said, “Currently there 70,030hotel rooms as 5,213 new rooms now being built come into operation this yearand the next,” it said, noting that they’ll create some 6,277 direct andindirect jobs.

“The average hotel occupancy was 80.8%, while income reached US$3.4 billion.

In the January-Juneperiod 495,766 tourists arrived by cruise reaching a growth of 56.4%,”the DICOM said, adding that the US topped visitor arrivals to the country byregion with 42.7%, followed by Europe with 21.4%, and Canada with 18.3%.