Dominican Republic’s tourism flourishes with over 9 million visitors in 2023

Santo Domingo.- Tourism Minister David Collado proudly announced the Dominican Republic’s remarkable tourism performance, with a record-breaking 9,105,043 visitors from January to November 2023. This figure signifies a 22% growth compared to the previous year, a staggering 103% increase from 2021, and a 34% rise over 2019.

During his monthly press conference, Minister Collado shared that in November alone, the country welcomed 636,460 air passengers, including 542,229 foreign tourists and 94,231 Dominicans living abroad. These arrivals by air represent a 38% increase from 2019, 22% more than 2021, and 11% higher than last year.

Cruise tourism also showed consistent expansion, with 223,393 cruise passengers arriving in November, contributing to a total of 1,913,991 cruise visitors in the first eleven months of the year. This surge in both air and sea travel led to a historical high for the Dominican tourism sector.

Collado expressed confidence that these impressive figures indicate the country is on track to reach its ambitious target of welcoming ten million visitors by the year’s end. The main sources of tourism in November were the United States (42%), Canada (19%), Colombia (5%), and Germany and Argentina (3% each).

Punta Cana Airport emerged as the top destination, receiving 58% of tourists, followed by Las Américas (26%), Cibao (10%), Puerto Plata (5%), and Romana, Samana, and Isabela (1% each). This tourism boom reflects the Dominican Republic’s growing status as a leading global travel destination.