Dominican Republic, unstoppable: leading tourism per capita in Latin America

Dominican tourism has added another milestone to the industry’s remarkable success story. The country has now become Latin America‘s leader in per capita tourist visits, according to a new analysis by Latinvex, based on statistics from the UN Tourism and the Dominican Government.

The Dominican Republic received 11.192 million visitors in 2024, the equivalent of 103.7% of its population of 10.797 million, according to an analysis of figures from the Dominican Government and the International Monetary Fund.

This is the highest level in all of Latin America. Uruguay previously held the lead in per capita visits, but that percentage dropped to 95.3% from 107.5% in 2023, while the Dominican Republic’s rate rose from 96% in 2023 to 103.7% in 2024.

On average, capita visitation for all of Latin America and the Caribbean increased by 17.4% last year. In total, Latin America is expected to receive 124.3 million tourists in 2024, representing a 7.6% increase.

The Caribbean destination remains the second most popular tourist destination in Latin America, behind Mexico and ahead of countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia.

Regarding Dominican tourism revenue as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ), this rose from 8.13% in 2023 to 8.8% in 2024. In Latin America, only El Salvador achieved a higher level last year, with a 9.8% rate.

Tourism revenue in the Dominican Republic last year, at US$10.972 billion, is higher than in countries such as Colombia, Brazil, and Panama.

Meanwhile, tourism revenues across Latin America increased 8% last year to US$128.4 million. Chile and Peru saw the largest percentage increases in tourism revenues, while Mexico led the increase in real terms, according to Latinvex.

The Dominican Republic, Latin America’s second-largest tourism market in terms of arrivals and revenue, welcomed a record 11.2 million tourists in 2023, a 9% increase compared to 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR).

The figures represent 103.7% of the Dominican population, meaning the Caribbean country has replaced Uruguay as the region’s leader in arrivals and population. In comparison, the Latin American average is 17.4%.

Tourism revenue reached US$10.97 billion, a 12.5% ​​increase from 2023, according to the UN Tourism.

Compared to the Dominican Republic’s GDP, this translates to 8.8% of the country’s GDP. This is the second-highest rate in Latin America, and it is almost five times the regional average of 1.9%.

The Dominican tourism market has grown despite a decline in arrivals from the United States, thanks to a substantial increase in arrivals from Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.