SANTO DOMINGO — It was a month to remember for the Dominican Republic, which recorded the best-ever September for tourism arrivals.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the country saw the best month of September in its history, with a higher number of arrivals than in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
This past September, the country welcomed a total of 365,544 non-resident visitors, which represents a recovery of 14% in the level of attendance recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, and more precisely in September 2019, and of 25% in comparison to September 2020. This generated US$412 million in revenue for the country.
To date, the arrivals of non-resident tourists by plane to the Dominican Republic in 2021 exceeded 3.3 million passengers, more than 2019 figures. According to the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, recovery was more marked among non-resident foreign tourists, who stay an average of seven days in the country. Among the non-resident tourists who arrived in 2021, 79% were of foreign origin and 21% of Dominican origin.
Hotel activity also reached its post-pandemic peak with 87% of rooms in operation, and an occupancy rate of 54% on weekdays and 61% on weekends.
The top four inbound international markets are the United States, Russia, Spain and Colombia.
In the month of September, the Dominican Republic welcomed a total of 3,694 commercial flights with an occupancy rate of 71%, operated by 87 airlines from 90 airports and 43 countries. At the same time, 10 cruises were carried out by eight ships, two of which touched Dominican ports during the same trip. This represents the arrival of 22,572 cruise passengers in three different ports, an increase of 3% compared to August 2021.
The short-term forecast also shows great promise, with airline ticket reservations for the period from October to December 2021 up 12%-20% over those recorded in 2019. It is estimated that the number of tourist arrivals in October 2021 will exceed those in October 2019. By the end of the year, arrivals of non-resident tourists in the country are expected to reach 4.8 million passengers.
