by Brian Major
Last updated: 4:00 PM ET, Tue August 20, 2024
The Dominican Republic will surpass 11.5 million visitors by
the end of 2024 after hosting a record 10 million visitors in 2023, said Luis
Abinader, the country’s president.
The Caribbean nation hosted 6,968,623 visitors in the first
seven months of this year, another record, while also posting all-time highs this
year in summer land and cruise visitation.
In his second-term inauguration speech on August 16, Abinader
attributed the country’s tourism growth to continuing infrastructure
investments, which have enhanced connectivity and logistical capabilities, plus the construction
of new cruise ports in Perdanales, with another scheduled for the Samana district.
Caption: Dominican Republic tourism growth is booming. (Photo by Brian Major)
Abinader also highlighted projects including the doubling
of facilities at Punta Cana International Airport, the upcoming construction of
Terminal 2 at Santo Domingo Airport, new terminals at Santiago Airport and the January
opening of Pedernales International Airport.
In July, 811,192 tourists arrived in the country by air,
two percent more than in the same month in 2023, 10 percent more than in 2022,
and 37 percent above 2019, said David Callado, the Dominican Republic’s tourism
minister, in an August 18 address in Santo Domingo. Since August 2020, the
country has hosted 31,947,565 visitors, Callado said.
The Dominican Republic also received 206,704 cruise
passengers in July of this year, 39 percent more than June, 95 percent above July
2022, and 148 percent over pre-pandemic July 2019, Callado said.
For the first seven months of 2024, the Dominican Republic hosted
5,286,174 airline travelers, eight percent more than the first seven months of 2023,
23 percent over the same period in 2022, and 27 percent more than 2019.
Collado said the country’s cruise visitor growth exceeded its
land-based arrivals increase with 1,682,449 cruise passengers in the first
seven months of 2024, 19 percent above last year’s January-July period, 155
percent above 2022 and 156 percent higher than 2019.
The country’s significant cruise visitor growth started
early, as 869,385 passengers arrived
at Dominican Republic cruise terminals in the first quarter of
2024, an increase of 8.37 percent compared with the same period last year, according
to the Dominican Ministry of Tourism, when 802,260 cruise passengers arrived.
Beginning in October, the Pedernales cruise port in Cabo Rojo
will host a cruise ship every eight days, representing “a significant boost in
the region’s tourism,” said Jean Luis Rodriguez, executive director of the
Dominican Port Authority, in a Dominican Today report.
By 2025, two new hotels with approximately 500 rooms will
open in Pedernales, further enhancing the region’s tourism development, said Joel
Santos, the Dominican Republic’s minister of the presidency. Santos predicted Pedernales
will draw one million annual travelers within three years.
The Dominican Republic is also building on its recent Open
Skies agreement with the U.S. Arajet, the country’s state carrier, is preparing
to launch flights connecting the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo with U.S.
cities.
Arajet officials expect to receive U.S. Department of
Transportation approval to commence its proposed routes following the implementation
of Open Skies pact, which must be reviewed by the Dominican Constitutional
Court and approved by the country’s Congress. The first departures are expected
to launch in the first half of 2025.
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