Foreign tourist travel to the Dominican Republic in the first quarter of the year is up 4.9%, according to the latest Central Bank report. The Central Bank Statistics Department that tallies tourism data says that this compares to a negative 0.6% start during the same period last year. Total foreign tourist arrivals for January-March is at a four-year high compared to 2011-2014.
Overall, during the first three months of the year the country received 1,502,583 visitors by airports, up 43,995 passengers, for a 3% growth rate.
Most tourists (59.8%) to the Dominican Republic continue to come from the United States and Canada, despite a series of blizzards that caused many flight cancellations during the winter period.
The good news is that travel from Europe is up 5.5%. More Germans are coming, and there are increases reported for the UK, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Austria, for 18,076 additional visitors during the period. This reverts a negative trend prior to October 2013. The increase in visitors is attributed to economic recovery in Europe.
Likewise, more tourists continue to come from South America. Stats show an 8.2% increase, or 9,284 more passengers. These have come from Brazil (up 22.2%), Argentina (up 13.2%), and Chile (11.1%).
The Central Bank reports that Punta Cana continues to be the main airport for foreign non-resident arrivals with 841,775 passengers (66.4%) The airport is followed by Las Americas with 186,031 arrivals (14.7%), Puerto Plata with 137,541 arrivals (10.9%), La Romana with 39,531 arrivals (3.1%) and Cibao with 37,742 arrivals (3%). El Catey in Samana and La Isabela in Santo Domingo accounted for the remaining 1.9%.
94.2% of the non-resident foreigners who visited the Dominican Republic said they had come for leisure and 92.3% stayed at hotels. Most visitors are in the 21-49 age range.