Tourism up in Dominican Republic
Tourism in the Dominican Republic has grown by 5.9 per cent in the past year, with the number of visitors from the US growing by nine per cent.
Canadian tourists increased by 7.4 per cent and there were also more visitors from England, Belgium and Spain, bringing the total number of tourists to the country to 1.1 million in the first quarter.
Tourism minister Felix Jimenez told Dominican Today that new tourism markets are emerging, with growing numbers of visitors from Russia, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru.
"In general, during the past month of March 389,075 nonresident foreigners arrived at the country by air," Mr Jimenez commented.
The expanding Eastern European market was highlighted with the recent opening of a weekly flight between Moscow and Punta Cana.
Last month, the government made private aircraft exempt from paying entrance and exit fees to the Dominican Republic if they are not carrying more than 12 passengers and weighing no more than 30,000 lbs in a move intended to boost tourism and business travel.
"For the past 25 years, the Dominican Republic has transformed its tourism sector into one of the most dynamic in the Dominican economy, and it continues to move ahead with exceptional growth. So strong has growth been that the country recently surpassed even Dubai in terms of tourism growth. With the industry booming and the homebuyers anxious to get their piece of paradise, the government is delicately working to balance private sector incentive with smart and sustainable development. Occupancy rates in the Dominican Republic traditionally stand at more than 70%" - Jane Althorpe, Emerging Earth.
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