The Central Bank 2013 Economic Report says that activity at hotels, bars and restaurants (tourism sector) in the Dominican Republic was up 7.6% compared to 2012. Revenue was also up 8.1% for the sector. The Central Bank attributes the increases to success with the Meetings, Incentives, Events and Conventions market by hotels in the Punta Cana area. Punta Cana received 63.6% of all foreign air arrivals in 2013.
The Central Bank reports that in 2013, there were 4,064,754 foreign tourist arrivals, which is 141,061 more than in 2012 for a 3.6% increase. Overall non-resident travel to the Dominican Republic by air was 4,689,770.
Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) received 2,584,871 travelers (63.6%), Las Americas International (SDQ) received 800,218 passengers (19.7%), Puerto Plata 353,857 (8.7%).
The Central Bank reports that tourists are spending more in the Dominican Republic. For the same average eight-and-a-half-day stays, tourists were spending on average US$124.89, which is up from average spending of US$118.36 in 2012.
The bank reports that non-resident Dominicans spent on average US$818.69 for stays of 17.27 nights.
www.bancentral.gov.do/publicaciones_economicas/infeco/infeco2013-12.pdf