Puerto Plata fully consolidates its position: it attracts 90% of cruise ship passengers in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic recorded the arrival of 1,653,129 cruise passengers during the first half of the year, representing a growth of 1.4% over the same period in 2015 and 188.2% over 2019, reaffirming the dynamism of maritime tourism.

Cruise tourism continues to solidify its position as one of the main drivers of the Dominican Republic’s tourism industry. Between January and June 2026, the country received 1,653,129 cruise passengers, representing a 1.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025, equivalent to 12,777 additional passengers.

Furthermore, the result exceeds the 2024 performance by 11.3%, the 2023 performance by 30.4%, and is 188.2% above the levels recorded in 2019, before the pandemic, according to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur), accessed by arecoa.com.

In June alone, 158,495 cruise passengers arrived, a 6.3% increase over June 2025, although the figure was 4% lower than in the same month of 2024. Compared with 2019, growth reached a remarkable 171.5%, reflecting the strength this segment has gained in recent years.

The ports of Amber Cove and Taíno Bay in Puerto Plata handled the majority of cruise ship traffic during June. Amber Cove received 82,644 passengers, representing 52% of the total, while Taíno Bay registered 60,473 cruise passengers, accounting for 38%. They were followed by La Romana with 7,014 passengers, Santo Domingo with 4,435, and Cabo Rojo with 3,929.

Combining air and sea tourism, the Dominican Republic recorded a total of 6,616,671 visitors between January and June 2016, a 7.7% increase over the same period the previous year, equivalent to 471,663 additional visitors. This figure also represents a 59.5% increase over 2019, marking the best first half of the year in Dominican tourism history.

The figures for the first half of the year indicate that maritime tourism maintains a positive trajectory and remains a pillar of visitor arrivals to the country, with favorable prospects for the rest of 2026 if the pace of operations at the main Dominican ports is maintained.