Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The Dominican Republic opened the year with 1.22 million tourists in January, a 5.5% increase compared with the same month last year. The increase was driven by growth in air arrivals and sustained demand from the United States.
Tourist arrivals to the island by air surpassed the 800,000-passenger mark for the first time in a single month, posting year-over-year growth of 8.7%, according to the Ministry of Tourism,. The figure exceeds pre-pandemic levels and is 61% higher than recorded in January 2019.
"Receiving 1,219,606 visitors for the first time in the history of Dominican tourism tells us how extraordinary this year will be for the sector," Dominican Republic Tourism Minister David Collado said.
Collado held meetings in New York with representatives of JPMorgan, Bank of America, Standard & Poor's and American Express, as well as other key players in the international financial system, as part of a strategic agenda to position tourism as the country's leading productive sector.
According to information released Thursday by the presidency, Collado presented projections for Dominican tourism for this year, highlighting the sector's sustained growth and predicting that if the current trend continues, 2026 could close with new record figures for the industry.
