The Central Bank statistics show that air arrivals increased 16.6% during
the first nine months of the year. A record number of foreigner travelers ?
2,116,450 visited from January to September 2003. The Central Bank attributes
the record number of visitors to the good value of Dominican vacations, more so
following the steep depreciation of the Dominican currency. For Europeans, this
is enhanced by the appreciation of their currency to the US dollar.
Foreign travel for the January-September period was 1,899,388 arrivals in 2000;
1,939,367 in 2001; and 1,739,143 in 2002 due to the effects of 9/11.