The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, presented to more than 200 representatives of travel agencies, European tour operators, airlines, European and local media, and investors the main destinations in the country and the results for 2022 that earned the Dominican Republic entry into the ranking of leading countries in the world in terms of recovery and the preference of the ten most visited countries.
Speaking at the first activity convened by the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur), at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel, prior to the inauguration of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur 2023) this Wednesday, Collado presented the results of record numbers achieved by the country at the end of December 2022, the first year in history that the nation exceeds seven million tourists by air, for a total of more than eight million, including more than one million cruise tourists.
Collado said that these favorable results are due to the fact that while the world was closed, the Dominican Republic took a responsible risk and opened up.
He stressed that “this is the achievement of all Dominicans who have proudly embraced the tourism industry,” after thanking the presence and support of airline representatives from Germany, France, England and Spain.
“Europe is one of the most important markets for our country, since last year we received more than 1.4 million tourists from the area. With activities like this, what we are looking for is to strengthen cooperation and alliances with each of the travel agencies and tour operators in the region, so that we continue to grow hand in hand and that in 2023 we also reach figures never seen before,” Collado explained. during the act.
Tourism activity represents 15% of its gross domestic product (GDP) for the Dominican economy, more than US$8.5 billion in income in dollars and more than 899,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Minister Collado said that the country has a long history of successes, but the main one is the public-private alliance to embrace tourism. He recalled that the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) stated on three occasions that the Dominican Republic is an example to follow, like other organizations.
Collado explained that each time the country improves its performance in terms of tourism, which translates into more jobs and opportunities for families in the Dominican Republic.
“Thank you because with each flight or with each room that you sell from the Dominican Republic you are helping a family, that is why it is so important for us to work hand in hand with all of you; the large, medium and small agencies, which are strategic partners, allow us to place our country within the favorite destinations of Europeans and the world” indicated the minister.
By showing the natural beauties of the country, he also presented the latest data from the tourism information center, which allows knowing the flow of visitors, their origin, motivation, ages and duration in the different places of stay.
The minister revealed that yesterday (Monday) 22,500 tourists entered the country, of which 14,000 arrived through Punta Cana, 5,000 through Las Américas (AILA); and the rest through the other airports. 7% went to Santiago, 10% stayed in Santo Domingo and 53% in Punta Cana.
He indicated that 19% of these tourists are adventurers and 26% came as a family. 14% stayed in hotels, 31% in Premium hotels and 36% in traditional hotels.
European tourists in the forefront
The arrival of European tourists represent 57% of the visitors to Punta Cana of the Dominican Republic, a destination that operates 45,000 rooms, Collado explained in his presentation on the results of 2022 and that also covered the destinations of Samaná and La Romana, Bayahíbe.
In the presentation, the Vice Minister of Tourism Jaqueline Mora highlighted the trends and projects that are being developed in the Dominican Republic to face the challenges of the world economy.
“The Dominican Republic grew by 11% compared to 2019 in terms of tourist arrivals by air and we grew by 19% in arrivals of visitors by cruise ship compared to that year, for which we reached an unprecedented total of 8.5 million visitors in 2022. The world faces growth challenges and high interest rates, but tourism has shown to be resilient, and tourists will look for destinations where they get better value for their money, such as the Dominican Republic.”
According to a Mitur note, this activity had the support of local and international investors and banks.