Advances in civil aviation support solid tourism growth in Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo – The interim general director of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (Idac), Héctor Porcella, affirmed that the growth of the aeronautical park and the agreements to strengthen the country’s connectivity with the rest of the world guarantee the sustainability of national tourism development in the coming years.

Showing his satisfaction for the 27 percent increase in the arrival of visitors by air in January 2023, Porcella said that the strategy outlined by President Luis Abinader and Minister David Collado through the Tourism Cabinet, has allowed all sectors involved in that area of the economy to improve their performance to support the achievements reached.

Interviewed during the presentation of tourism results for the first month of the year, the Idac director revealed that after the recent open skies agreement with Canada, the Dominican Republic is preparing to formalize a similar agreement with the United States.

He indicated that these agreements not only strengthen Dominican tourism, but also contribute to improving flight and route options for nationals residing in the country and abroad, in addition to creating the conditions for lower airfares, as promised by President Abinader.

Tourism data in January 2023

During his usual monthly presentation, Minister David Collado explained that the recently ended month of January became the best January ever for the Dominican Republic with the arrival of almost one million visitors.

By air, 674,737 tourists entered the country for a growth of 27% with respect to 2022; and 273,845 visitors arrived by cruise ships, for a growth of 191% with respect to 2022. This results in a total of 948,582 visitors, which translates into a 52% growth in total visitor arrivals through the country’s airports and ports.

The Minister of Tourism declared that the challenge in 2023 is for the country to surpass its own results, after the extraordinary results of 2022, which, in his opinion, has begun to happen at the beginning of this year.

She maintained that the achievements registered are the result of the tireless work of the tourism cabinet headed by President Luis Abinader as well as the Mitur team; and of the harmony and teamwork being carried out between the authorities and the private sector to promote and continue to strengthen the arrival of foreigners to the country.

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Jaqueline Mora, explained that as far as cruises are concerned, January 2023 was the month with the highest arrival of cruise passengers in the history of the country, surpassing by almost 50% the previous record which was January 2017, when 186,000 passengers arrived in the Dominican Republic, versus more than 273,000.

“And not only was it the best month in history in terms of cruise arrivals, it was also the one with the highest number of operations with a total of 112 operations within which the largest cruise ship in the world, the “Wonder of the Seas” with a capacity of almost 7 thousand people, was received at the port of Taino Bay” stated Mora.

The average hotel occupancy was 78% in January 2023, surpassing the average occupancy in 2022, which was 71%. The tourist center with the best average occupancy rate was La Romana / Bayahibe with 84%, followed by Punta Cana / Bávaro with 83%.