Highlights agreements to enforce air connectivity
Santo Domingo.- The interim general director of the Instituto Dominicano de Aviación Civil, Idac, Héctor Porcella, affirmed that the growth of the aeronautical park and the agreements to enforce the country´s connectivity with the rest of the world guarantee the sustainability of national touristic development in the coming years.
Expressing his satisfaction for the 27% increase of visitors arrival by air in January 2023, Porcella said that the strategy outlined by President Luis Abinader and Minister David Collado through the Tourism Cabinet has allowed that all the sectors that intervene in that area of the economy have improved their performance to support the achievements made.
Porcella, interviewed at the presentation of the tourism results in the first month of the year, revealed that after the recent open skies agreement with Canada, the Dominican Republic is preparing to formalize a similar agreement with the United States.
He indicated that such agreements not only strengthen Dominican tourism but also contribute to improve flight and routes options for nationals residing in the country and abroad, in addition to creating the conditions to lower airfares, as promised by President Abinader.
Tourism data in January 2023
During his usual monthly presentation, Minister David Collado explained that the past month of January was the best month of January in history for the Dominican Republic with the arrival of almost one million visitors.
674,737 tourists entered the country by air, for a growth of 27% compared to 2022; and 273,845 visitors arrived through cruise ships, for a growth of 191% compared to 2022. This yields a total of 948,582 visitors, which translates into a 52% growth in total arrivals of visitors through airports and ports in the country.
The Tourism Minister said that the challenge for 2023 is to beat such numbers, which are the result of a great work performed by the Tourism Cabinet headed by President Luis Abinader, along with the Mitur team, as well as the working harmony between the official authorities and the private sector, to promote and strengthen the visitors´arrivals.
The deputy Minister of Tourism, Jaqueline Mora, explained that in terms of cruise ships, January 2023 was the month with the highest arrival of cruise passengers in the country’s history, exceeding the previous record set in January 2017 by almost 50%. when 186 thousand passengers arrived in the Dominican Republic, versus more than 273 thousand.
“And it was not only the best month in history in terms of cruise passenger arrivals, it was also the month with the highest number of operations with a total of 112, within which the largest cruise ship in the world was received, the “Wonder of the Seas” with a capacity of almost 7,000 people, in the port of Taino Bay” affirmed Mora.
Average hotel occupancy stood at 78% in January 2023, exceeding the average occupancy for 2022, which was 71%. The tourist pole with the best occupancy average was La Romana / Bayahibe, with 84%, followed by Punta Cana / Bávaro with 83%.