Speaking at DATE Punta Cana 2013, Deputy Tourism Minister Radhames Martinez announced that last year was an exceptional year for Dominican tourism. He said that the 5.95% increase in visits by non-resident Dominicans and foreigners showed that both the public and private sectors had done their job. The DR received 4.6 million visitors last year.
He attributed the increase to the difficulties in the US economy, which have made closer travel destinations more popular and the increasing popularity of the Dominican Republic with Russian tourists, as well as to improvements in the destination and promotional efforts.
He said that Russia is now the fourth largest source market of tourists, overtaking Germany. The United States, Canada and France are the three main markets for Dominican tourism.
Martinez said that economic woes in many source countries have led to increased unemployment and travelers are increasingly seeking out the best price-value propositions for travel. He added that the Dominican Republic had benefited when US travelers sought closer destinations. This explains in part the 14% increase in travel from the US. He added that funds had been assigned to promotion and that the Ministry maintains very close ties with airlines and tour operators.
He said the government would continue to work on improving infrastructure, enhancing promotion, introducing new products, and would work closely with the private sector to foster continued growth. He announced that in 2013 promotions would be targeted at segmented markets, including weddings and honeymoon, family, sports, gastronomy and baby boomers. New promotional campaigns would be launched in two or three months, said Martinez.
Martinez announced that in the first year of the Danilo Medina administration, the Ministry of Tourism has been allocated the largest budget in its history – RD$5.4 billion, which includes US$70 million for promotion. He said the support is to back President Medina’s announced target for reaching 10 million tourists in the next 10 years. “It’s worth the effort,” said Martinez.