Travel to the Dominican Republic continues to grow with a 4.81% increase in visitors in July. A total of 453,826 tourists arrived by air, 20,810 more than in the same month last year. 16,863 of them were foreign visitors. The total non-resident Dominican visitors increased by 5.64%, or 3,947 more than last year.
So far this year, from January to July 2012, a total of 2,907,598 visitors arrived by air, up 7.2% compared to the same period last year. This is 171,083 more foreign visitors and 24,208 more non-resident Dominican visitors.
The Central Bank attributes the increase to successful overseas promotion by the Ministry of Tourism and the private sector. The conclusion by Central Bank data analysts is that there is evidence that the recovery in the flow of tourist arrivals has consolidated.
The US market continues to grow and lead as source market, with 141,552 travelers so far this year, despite the economic crisis in the US. Other markets showing growth were Russia, with 28,546 more travelers, and Canada with 21,250 more. The Dominican Republic continues to be a vacation destination of choice for travelers from Venezuela (+10,175), France (+7,483), Argentina (+7,320), Brazil (+7,216), Chile (+ 4,534), Peru (+4,274) and Colombia (+3,790). On the other hand, traditional European markets, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Spain showed declines in number of travelers this year compared to last year.
Punta Cana continues to be the leading airport, with 61.65% of foreign tourist arrivals, followed by Las Americas (Santo Domingo) with 19.82%, Puerto Plata with 9.51%, Cibao (Santiago) with 4.16% and La Romana with 2.91%.
93.48% of tourists visiting the country come for leisure, and 88.89% stay at hotels. Tourists visiting the Dominican Republic are mostly 21-49 years old, with 63.77% in this age segment.