The consolidated figures for the year 2021 demonstrate the strength of the economic relationship between the Dominican Republic and the United States, with increases in almost all areas, including remittances, trade and tourism, according to Sonia Guzmán, Dominican ambassador in That country.
The diplomat stressed that the United States was by a large margin the largest issuer of foreign investment received by the Dominican Republic. Data from the Central Bank indicate that, from January to September of last year, foreign direct investment from the US reached $1,021 million dollars, 41% of the total captured in that period, this being the highest percentage in a decade.
According to a report from the embassy’s Commercial Department, from January to December 2021, the exchange of goods between the two countries totaled a record figure of $16,791 million dollars, an increase of $4,000 million dollars compared to 2020, for a year-on-year rise of 32%.
Exports last year represented $6,347 million dollars, an increase of 20% compared to 2020, and 14% compared to the volume of 2019, according to Leonel Mateo Hernández, in charge of economic and commercial affairs of the diplomatic mission.
Travelers from the United States launched the reactivation of the tourism sector in the post-pandemic period, representing 45% of the total number of visitors who chose the Dominican Republic as a tourist or business destination. Central Bank statistics indicate that in 2021 the country welcomed 1,655,324 visitors from this market.
As of December 2021, remittances sent to the country reached a historic amount of $10,403 million, of which Dominicans in the United States contributed 85% of the total.
