The 10 million tourists who arrived in the country last year are already a record, this being the figure to be surpassed by 2024. The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, reported on Monday that tourist arrivals are on track to exceed 11 million visitors, after managing to reach the figure of 4,178,683 in the first four months.

April closed with a total of 704,740 tourists who arrived in the nation by air, which represents a growth of 3% compared to the same month in 2023, 12% compared to 2022 and 20% compared to 2019.

“This gives a sign that our tourism is growing strongly and that we are doing the things that need to be done,” said Collado after presenting last month’s results in his traditional press conference.

Meanwhile, some 248,459 vacationers arrived on cruise ships last month, representing a 37% increase compared to the previous year.

“We are carrying out tourism without politicizing it, in a decent, professional and transparent manner and that is why we decided to present the results for the month of April in mid-May so that they would not clash with the electoral process,” said Collado when delivering the results of April.

During the four months of January-April, the country received 3,039,302 tourists by air, which is equivalent to a 10% growth compared to the same period in 2023, 24% compared to 2019 and 30% compared to the previous year 2018.

Of these figures, the minister indicated that 1,139,381 travelers arrived by sea, which represents an increase of 15% compared to 2023, 173% compared to 2022 and 234% compared to 2019.

With the phrase “we did it again,” Collado expressed how they continue to make history in the nation’s tourism, and highlighted that the tourist center of Puerto Plata, so important for us, is already recovering.

Furthermore, he stated that the United States continues to be the spearhead for tourists, with 45% being American, 24% Canadian, 3% Colombian, 3% Argentinian and 2% from France. 34% have been traveling with families, 22% adventurers, 26 adults and 18 seniors.

The arrival of 4,178,683 visitors represents a growth of 12% compared to the same period in 2023, 52% compared to 2022 and 43% compared to 2019.

“A historic figure that shows that we are facing the best year of tourism in the Dominican Republic,” said Collado, after announcing the number achieved to date.

With these figures, the official rectified that the country is on track to exceed 11 million tourists, and predicted that by May they will already be growing in double digits.

Source: Listin Diario