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BiggerDominican tourism breaks January record with 1.2 million visitors
Santo Domingo.- Dominican tourism recorded a strong start to the year, welcoming 1,219,606 visitors in January, a 5.5% increase compared to the same month in 2025, 14.2% more than 2014, and 61.7% above pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to Tourism Minister David Collado.
Presenting the figures at the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), Collado reported that 825,847 tourists arrived by air, reflecting an 8.7% year-on-year increase, while 393,759 cruise passengers arrived by sea, up 21% from 2025 and 152% from 2019.
“This is the first time in our history that the country has received more than 1.2 million visitors in January, confirming the extraordinary momentum of Dominican tourism,” Collado said.
The United States led visitor arrivals with 35%, followed by Canada (24%), Argentina (8%), Colombia (5%), France (3%), and the United Kingdom and Italy (2% each). Punta Cana International Airport handled 63% of arrivals, followed by Las Américas (18%), Cibao (9%), Puerto Plata (6%), La Romana (2%), and Samaná (1%).
Hotel occupancy exceeded 82% in January, while tourist satisfaction reached 4.4 out of 5. The country also received 6,789 flights, with an average occupancy of 75%, representing sustained growth compared to previous years.
The Government repeats proudly the increases in tourism. Here around Cabrete at the north coast I see many new apartment buildings on the beach (with no public access to the public beach) and many cruise ships. At the same time the dominican neighborhoods, with many Air Bnbs, restaurants and local business inside, look neglected, with lots of potholes and puddles on the streets, poor and temporary repairs. Does not look to me like succesful tourism development, where is the benefit for the locals ?
Only 3% get off the ships