In a first in the history of the Caribbean, a destination has topped 10 million visitors in a single year. The Dominican Republic officially hit the milestone this week, with a symbolic ceremony at the Punta Cana International Airport, when American Ariana Guilak arrived on an American Airlines plane from Miami.
The 10 million number includes both air arrivals and cruise visitors: that included 7.86 million air arrivals, and another 2.16 million cruise passenger arrivals. Both were, of course, all-time records for the Dominican Republic.
“Reaching 10 million tourists between air and cruise ships is a fact that should fill the entire country with pride, since each of these visitors are friends of the country who contribute to development, employment, to the countryside, to construction and to the entire productive apparatus of the country continuing to grow,” said Dominican Republic Tourism Minister, David Collado.
He presented the figures of the economic impact that tourism has had this year in the Dominican Republic, generating more than 620,000 direct and indirect jobs and an estimated generation of foreign exchange of more than US$11,000 million.
Frank Rainieri, founder of Grupo Punta Cana, assured that this makes the country a leader in the insular Caribbean, since it multiplies the economic and social impact on Dominican tourism. Interviewed on the program El Sol de la Mañana, which is broadcast on Sol FM, Rainieri said that in the first year of operation of the airport they only received 2,000 tourists. However, on December 24 alone, 18,000 arrived.
The latter said that after achieving 10 million visitors, the goal should be to reach 15 million annually starting in 2030.
Source: Caribbean Journal
© 2024 All rights reserved. Design By Pixler IT Solutions.