Dominican tourism businesses rely heavily on annual international visitors. In 2019, the expenditures by inbound tourists reached nearly eight billion U.S. dollars. However, as in almost every country affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a heavy drop took place in the Dominican Republic’s visitor exports in 2020. And despite a strong recovery in 2021, this Dominican industry continued to feel the impact of the global health crisis as the total inbound tourism spending did not achieve pre-pandemic levels in that year.
Punta Cana
Mostly known for its tropical weather and white sand beaches, the largest share of visitors in the Dominican Republic are looking for sunny, relaxing vacations. The top hotspot for this type of tourism is Punta Cana, located on the far eastern point of the island. In 2021, Punta Cana International Airport received over two million air visitor arrivals, which is around 2.4 times the international air passenger volume registered in Las Américas, the second most important international airport in the Caribbean country. Consequently, the Punta Cana area also holds one of the highest hotel occupancy rates among major Dominican tourist destinations.Cruise tourism
With the Caribbean leading the cruise tourism destinations worldwide between 2018 and 2020, the Dominican Republic has been profited from this type of tourism, especially in the last years of the 2010s. In 2016, the country experienced a rise of approximately 53 percent in the number of cruise tourist arrivals. This trend continued the following year, when the one-million-arrival mark was hit for the first time. By the end of the past decade, over 300 cruise ships and more than 200 yachts anchored each year in Dominican ports. In 2021, nonetheless, the severe impact of the global health crisis was still harshly felt by the cruise market in the Caribbean country, which only reported 333 thousand passenger arrivals in that year.
