Santo Domingo. Tourism Minister David Collado reported that the Dominican tourism sector recorded growth of more than 36 percent compared to 2019, exceeding the target of 10 million visitors by more than 300,000.
At an event led by President Luis Abinader to announce the behavior of tourism over the past year, Collado said that the country received 10,306,517 visitors by air and sea during the January-December period, making the exceeded the target of 10 million by more than 300,000.
He explained that the Dominican Republic received last year
8,058,670 by air and another 2,247,847 visitors by sea.
“2023 was the best year for tourism in the entire history of the country, thanks to the vision of President Luis Abinader and this great alliance of the public and private sectors,” said Minister Collado when presenting the sector statistics for the past year.
He stated that 867,570 tourists arrived in the country by air in December alone, 106,635 more than in 2022, representing a growth of 13 percent.
He explained that at the time
From January to December, 8,058,670 tourists arrived in the country, an increase of 22% compared to 2022 and an increase of 25% compared to 2019.
He said a total of 2,247,172 cruise passengers were counted in the same 12-month period, while 327,172 arrived in December alone, an increase of 45% compared to the same month in 2022.
Travel destinations visited
The most visited destinations last year were Punta Cana with 42%, Santo Domingo with 18%, Puerto Plata with 12% and La Romana with 11%.
The top tourist emitting countries were the United States with 43%; Canada at 16%; Colombia with 7%; Spain with 5% and Puerto Rico with 4%.
