Central Bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu said recently that the buoyant tourism industry is behind the 7% Gross Domestic Product growth the country has experienced over the first nine months of the year. Valdez Albizu said that hotels, bars and restaurant earnings were up 11.5%, for US$4.29 billion in receipts. There has been a 10% increase in tourist arrivals from January to September 2014 compared to the same period last year. In September, Central Bank statistics show a 13.3% increase.
Other growth sectors were mining 24.1%, construction 10.7%, 8.2%, health 8.2%, finances and insurance 7.8%, education 6.7%, manufacturing 5.7%, transport 5.6%, farming 5.4%, and commerce 5%.
Remittances were also up 10.8% to US$3.46 billion, some US$336.4 million more than in 2013.
In his keynote address during the Central Bank’s 61st anniversary celebrations, Valdez Albizu stated that the economic statistics point to an optimistic outlook for the country’s future.
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/notas_bc/2014/10/23/554/gobernador-valdez-albizu-informa-economa-creci-7-y-se-crearon-165799-empleos