The Central Bank has released their travel statistics for the year 2003, indicating that more than 3.5 million travelers arrived in the DR by air, representing a 14.5% increase over 2002. Of the total, 91.6% were non-residents. Dominicans and residents made up only 8.4% of travelers. A record number of foreign tourists arrived last year (2,758,550 travelers), showing a 19.5% improvement over 2002 and making up 77% of total arrivals, according to the Central Bank. The boom is being attributed in part to the depreciation of the peso and the appreciation of the Euro which made travel to the DR more attractive. Hotel occupancy was 72.7% last year, up almost 10% compared to 2002. The Bavaro-Punta Cana area experienced the best occupancy rates, averaging 84.2% for the year. But the North Coast area – Puerto Plata, Playa Dorada, Costa Dorada and Cofresi – also saw a good year, with a 7.2% growth over 2002. Sosua and Cabarete received 11.2% more visitors in 2003 than in 2002.