After an impressive post-pandemic recovery, with the Dominican Republic The country has been recognized as the world’s top tourist destination for two years in a row and is now aiming to welcome an unprecedented number of tourists.
The island nation is thinking big: in 2013 the government predicted 10 million visitors per year for the coming years, unaware that the world would face a global lockdown in 2020.
However, this setback did not stop the country from breaking records. Last year the island welcomed its first 10 million visitors, and now expects this to reach 12 million by the end of 2024.
Vice President Raquel Peña is ready to raise the stakes. As part of the government’s sustainable growth strategy, which runs until 2036, the goal is to welcome 14 million travelers annually before 2028.
In 2023, the Global Travel Trends Report revealed that the Dominican Republic has attracted foreign investment at a pace never seen before.
This partly explains how the country achieved its best tourism year ever last year, with 14% more international passengers than in 2022.
The Ministry of Tourism took advantage of the downtime from the pandemic to create a future-proof plan, targeting two key markets: remote workers – whose numbers were growing rapidly – and luxury travelers.
“These and other strategies have a direct impact on the increase in arrivals this year compared to previous years,” Juan Gomez Garcia, senior director of intelligence at ForwardKeys, said at the time. “We need to emphasize the marketing strategy [the Dominican Republic] does to reach premium markets.”
Tourism Minister David Collado has stated that the key to their success is understanding new travel trends “The behavior of travelers is evolving.”
Recognizing this evolving behavior, the country has shifted its focus to non-traditional markets such as luxury travel, sports and wellness.
This strategy led to a 56 percent increase in airline ticket bookings between January and March 2024, according to travel analytics company ForwardKeys.
In July alone, 811,192 passengers passed through customs at the country’s eight international airports, while 206,704 cruise passengers docked at ports.
These figures represent an 8 percent increase in non-resident aircraft arrivals and a 19 percent growth in cruise passenger numbers.
Collado revealed that the sector had surpassed all previous four-year visitor records.
Interestingly, a recent report highlights that much of this new tourism is being driven by the accelerated development of luxury hotels and resorts – such as several Marriott properties – and the launch of new air routes directly connecting the US to the island.
Dominican Republic is leading the way in sustainable luxury travel
According to data from Euromonitorthe new sustainability-conscious luxury traveler seeks to minimize their carbon footprint without compromising their luxury lifestyle.
These travelers are willing to pay between 30 and 50 percent more for sustainable facilities, such as energy-efficient facilities.
Other popular services among this target group include customized luxury experiences such as private tours, exclusive cultural encounters, tailor-made wellness retreats and even the option to rent private islands or yachts.
“Sensory experiences,” such as gourmet farm-to-table meals using organic and locally sourced ingredients, are also key to helping them feel connected to the community, especially when the dishes are prepared by top local chefs.
So the Dominican Republic has quickly adapted to offer a range of services that these travelers may not find in other destinations in the region.
