During the first quarter of 2006, tourists residing in the United States made up the majority of all nationalities visiting the DR. Central Bank statistics indicate that 296,963 US tourists arrived. March was the peak month for US tourists for the start of the year, with 87,206 coming to escape the cold. Tourists coming from Canada were next, with 257,596 tourists from January to March. From Europe some 111,853 French tourists arrived. These were followed by 66,056 from Germany, 46,078 from the UK, 45,306 from Spain and 42,575 from Italy. During the first quarter of the year, the Central Bank reported that 987,599 foreign tourists visited.