Which Caribbean island has the fastest growth in tourism? One particular island has already achieved it 6 million visitors in 2024 almost as much as in 2019. That country is the Dominican Republic.
By the numbers
The Dominican Republic had 923,736 visitors in June, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2023 and a whopping 22 percent more than in 2022. Just under 760,000 of these people arrived by air, an increase of 7 percent compared to 2023. The Dominican Republic has 8 international airports that serve passengers. Most of the rest arrived on cruise ships.
Of more than 10 million visitors in 2023, the Dominican Republic was the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean. David Collado, the Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, predicts a total of 11.4 million visitors by the end of 2024.
Why is the Dominican Republic so successful?
Like most tourism-dependent economies, the Dominican Republic was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic but has bounced back, in part because the Ministry of Tourism has spent pandemic shutdown planning for the future and developed effective destination marketing . aimed at remote workers and attracting investments.
They also work to develop sustainable tourism initiatives that appeal to the luxury market. The popular destination city of Punta Cana aims to become a waste-free destination, but there are also initiatives to spread tourism outside the city and highlight other destinations, such as the capital Santo Domingo or the natural paradise Samaná.
What about the future?
It is likely that tourism in the Dominican Republic will only continue to grow. This could lead to concerns about overtourism (people concerned about crowds might consider exploring the deep southwest of Barahona or the mountain resort of Jarabacoa).
