Minister of Tourism Felix Jiménez told the DPA German press agency said that more US travelers will have visited this year than Germans. German tourists were the biggest group of Dominican tourists in the past. Jiménez said that more than 417,000 German tourists visited the DR from January to November 1999, and registers show that more than 484,000 US travelers came during the same period. He estimated travel to the DR in 1999 was 2,685,855 tourists, which contributed US$2,473 million to the national economy. In 1998, some 2,309,139 tourists visited, contributing US$2,142 million dollars. Jiménez said that the national hotel inventory is at 49,000 rooms, while another 6,000 rooms are under construction. Jiménez says that the government is investing in expanding roads, aqueducts and sewage facilities at a cost of US$120 million to prepare for the increase in tourism. He also said that the principal airports of the country will be modernized with some US$400 million invested in improvements and expansions. He forecast an increase in maritime visitors for this year. Maritime tourism declined 42.5% from January to September 1999, when compared with the same period last year. 393,070 passengers came by seaports during the first nine months of 1998. In 1999, maritime traffic declined to 226,062 due to problems in port areas. (6 January 2000)
