A new annual record for arrivals in the first five months of the year has been set, with 2,526,564 travelers by air in 2016, up 148,216 travelers compared to 2015. A new record number of travelers is also expected for the end of year.
Travel to the Dominican Republic in May was up 4.9% in May compared to May 2015, according to the Central Bank statistics department. An additional 20,354 passengers arrived by air to the Punta Cana International Airport, for a total of 437,338 non-resident travelers, including Dominican and foreign tourists. For non-Dominican tourists, the total was 4.7% for 16,772 additional visitors.
So far this year, numbers of non-resident travelers have increased consistently: January (7.7%), February (8.4%), March (5.2%), April (4.9%), May (4.9%) for an average 6.2% growth rate this year.
The Central Bank attributes the good year to the health economy in the United States, the main source market for tourism to the Dominican Republic. Unemployment in the United States is at a low 4.7%.
The Central Bank says that 58.9% of travel is from the United States and Canada and Mexico, 20.3% from Europe, 15.3% from South America, 5.3% from Central America and the Caribbean and 0.2% from the rest of the world.
66.2% of travelers arrived via the Punta Cana International Airport. In the first five months of the year, 1,472,770 visitors arrived via Punta Cana, up 4.6% compared to the same period in 2015.
94.8% of tourists described themselves as coming for leisure.
