The Dominican Republic is on track to shatter its tourism records this year, welcoming more than 6.1 million visitors (6,145,008) in the first half of 2025.
Tourism Minister David Collado predicts a year-end total of 12 million arrivals.
The first-semester tally marks a 3% increase over the same period last year, representing an addi-tional 185,166 visitors. Of the total, 4,514,093 tourists arrived by air, and 1,630,915 by sea. This tourism boom is projected to inject US$21.1 billion into the Dominican economy by the end of 2025.
The United States continues to be the leading source of visitors, accounting for 45% of arrivals, followed by Canada (18%), Argentina (6%), and Colombia (4%). Puerto Rico, France, England, Chile and Germany each contributed 2% of the tourist flow.
Air connectivity and the opening of new cruise ship terminals are making a significant difference, says the tourism authority.
Punta Cana International Airport remained the primary gateway, handling 63% of all air arrivals, or 2,845,622 tourists. This was followed by Las Américas-Santo Domingo (888,331), El Cibao-Santiago (454,804), Puerto Plata (227,842), and La Romana (62,441).
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Expanding air connectivity
The Dominican Republic welcomed a total of 35,114 flights during the first half of the year. The United States led with 50% of these operations, followed by Canada (12%), Panama (6%), Colombia (5%), and Puerto Rico (5%).
In 2024, the DR welcomed 11.1m visitors—8.5m tourists arriving by air and 2.7m cruise passengers. Air arrivals grew by 32% vs. 2019, 19% vs. 2022, and 6% compared to 2023. Cruise passenger numbers surged, 141% from 2019, 103% from 2022, and 18% from 2023.
