The Dominican Republic received over 5 million visitors from January to May.This figure represents a 12% increase compared to the same period in 2023, a 49% increase over 2022, and a 43% increase from 2019.
The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, presented the data at the Hotel Embajador in Santo Domingo. Collado highlighted that in May alone, the Dominican Republic received over 670,000 tourists by air, a 9% increase compared to the same month last year.
David Collado stated, «May was an extraordinary month with the arrival of 846,735 visitors, representing a 12 percent increase compared to May last year, a 45 percent increase over the same month in 2019, and a 54 percent increase over 2018.»
«When you see figures like those we’ve achieved in the first five months of this year, you should feel proud as a Dominican: 5,026,990 visitors from January to May—that’s the big number,» added Collado.
In May, the main countries sending tourists were:
- United States: 53%;
- Canada: 11%;
- Colombia: 5%;
- Argentina: 4%.
Airports in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has six international airports, connecting the island nation with the Americas and Europe.
The country’s main airport is Punta Cana (PUJ), which receives the highest number of flights. The top five destinations served, according to data from Flightradar24, are New York (JFK) with 49 weekly flights, Panama (PTY) with 49 weekly flights, Miami (MIA) with 41 weekly flights, San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin (SJU) with 31 weekly flights, and Toronto (YYZ) with 30 weekly flights.
The capital’s Las Américas International (SDQ) is the second busiest airport. The five most frequented routes are Miami with 73 flights, New York with 61 flights, Panama with 31 flights, and both San Juan and Newark (EWR) with 29 flights each.
In addition to these two major airports, the Dominican Republic has La Romana (LRM), Santiago de los Caballeros (STI), and Samaná (AZS), which also receive international flights.
Arajet
Another key factor in the growth of tourism and passenger numbers in the Dominican Republic was the establishment of Arajet, a low-cost airline based at Las Americas International Airport.
The company operates a fleet of ten 737-8 MAX aircraft, flying to 19 destinations across the Americas and the Caribbean.
In 2023, the Dominican airline transported 550,000 passengers during its first full calendar year of operations, entering the market in September 2022.
Route map of Arajet
