Dominican Republic Leads The Caribbean Tourism Rebound

Tourism in the Caribbean rebounded in 2022 after the pandemic with historical figures on the Mexican beaches of Cancun, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

The Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic registered 7.1 million tourists by air and 1.3 million by cruise, which exceeded the pre-pandemic level and reached record numbers in 2022, the year in which the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recognized it for its “exemplary” tourist recovery.

According to figures from the Tourism portfolio, visitors generated a record 8,671 million dollars to the country last year, with a 10% growth compared to 2019 in tourist arrivals by air and 20% in cruises.

In Mexico, a country that concentrates almost half of the international tourism in Latin America, according to the consultants Statista and Latinometrics, Quintana Roo had a record of more than 30 million arrivals at the Cancun airport, according to the state government.

“We closed with a total of 19.7 million tourists, these were people who stayed overnight in our hotels, and here we are adding national and international tourists,” said Javier Aranda, director of the Tourism Promotion Council of the state of Quintana Roo, which captures about 47.5% of international tourism in Mexico.

Mexico established itself as the third most visited country in the world during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic without restrictions, but Aranda said that many are now “repeat” tourists.

“These tourists, although they can go to other places, have already known the joys of enjoying the different destinations in Quintana Roo. That gives us a great advantage because they want to return to learn more,” said Aranda.

The official explained that there are already almost 127,000 hotel rooms when the investment is recovered.

“There were more than 235 restaurants with investments of more than one million dollars in the Mexican Caribbean, from Chetumal to Holbox,” added Marcy Bezaleel Pacheco, state president of the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Seasoned Food Industry (Canirac).

Source: Dominican Travel Pro