2022 Tourism Summary: Dominican Republic Celebrates a Record Year
The year 2022 proved to be exceptional for the Dominican Republic, which recorded a significant increase in the number of tourists and was the only country in the world to receive more tourists than in 2019 or previous years. In total, 7,942,713 people arrived in the Dominican Republic. This is significant because over half a million more arrived, so the 8 million mark was exceeded for the first time in history.
Who sleeps in hotels, and who rents apartments?
Tourists chose hotels (4,347,237) rather than apartments (3,595,476), but the number of development investments continues to grow, and these figures may significantly converge in the coming years. This is all thanks to the Dominican Republic’s openness over the past 3 years. During this period, individual Owners gained the most. Hotels were closed, and the whole world came to rental apartments. Interestingly, the most numerous age group was people over 50 (2,425,475), and the least numerous was children and youth aged 13-20 (580,707). Statistical data analysis shows that women predominated (4,127,084), while men numbered 3,815,629.
Age distribution of tourists:
| 0 – 12 years old | 768,606 people |
| 13 – 20 years old | 580 707 |
| 21 – 35 years old | 2 090 398 |
| 36 – 49 years old | 2 077 527 |
| 50 years and older | 2 425 475 |
Is the Dominican Republic only for leisure?
The main purpose of traveling to the Dominican Republic was leisure, as confirmed by statistics:
6,246,047 tourists, 209,853 people related to business, and 73,405 participating in conferences. Additionally, 25,537 people came for studies, 828,509 visited family and friends, and 559,362 for other reasons.
Does the Dominican Republic have a low and high season?
In terms of the number of arrivals in individual months, the three most popular months are: December (827,696), July (800,942), and June (699,523), while the three least popular months are: September (502,838), October (559,931), and May (622,999). It is clear that it may only seem that our investment apartment will be empty during the holidays. Nothing could be further from the truth. 😉
Arrivals to the Dominican Republic by month of the year:
| January | 617,445 people | 7.7% of all visitors in the year |
| February | 607 398 | 7,6 % |
| March | 664 372 | 8,36% |
| April | 690 161 | 8,69% |
| May | 622 999 | 7,84% |
| June | 699 523 | 8,81% |
| July | 800 942 | 10,08% |
| August | 707 236 | 8,90% |
| September | 502 838 | 6,33% |
| October | 559 931 | 7,05% |
| November | 642 172 | 8,09% |
| December | 827 696 | 10,42% |
Where do we land? Is the Dominican Republic only Punta Cana?
While Punta Cana airport attracted the most travelers (4,194,689 people), Las Americas in Santo Domingo is also crowded (2,300,408). Other popular destinations include Cibao in Santiago De Los Caballeros (920,468), Puerto Plata (320,876), and La Romana in the vicinity of Bayahibe and Casa de Campo (121,066). The small El Catey airport on the Samana peninsula received 32,113 passengers, and finally, an interesting fact: statistics recorded 47 travelers landing in Maria Montez in Barahona.
Which ‘countries’ fly to the Dominican Republic?
The Dominican Republic enjoyed a diversity of visiting nationalities, with dominant tourists from the USA (2,004,849), Dominicans from outside the country (647,106), Canada (557,985), and Colombia (293,564). Among European countries, France (217,508), Great Britain (188,063), and Spain (181,588) led the way, with Poland contributing a record 83,265 tourists. Importantly, this statistic refers to Polish passports, not just those arriving from our country. Many of our compatriots fly to the Dominican Republic from the USA, Canada, or Great Britain, and these passports, along with people flying from Poland, make up this impressive number.
| 1. USA | 2 597 196 |
| 2. Dominicans from outside the country | 1 358 045 |
| 3. Canada | 714 291 |
| 4. Colombia | 256 633 |
| 5. France | 217 973 |
| 6. England | 196 944 |
| 7. Spain | 192 873 |
| 8. Germany | 185 818 |
| 9. Argentina | 177 884 |
| 10. Chile | 132 213 |
| 11. Puerto Rico | 119 230 |
| 12. Russia | 119 045 |
| 13. Italy | 76 586 |
| 14. Peru | 71 398 |
| 15. Brazil | 71 334 |
| 16. Venezuela | 67 574 |
| 17. Mexico | 55 704 |
| 18. Poland | 55 354 |
| 19. Portugal | 50 243 |
| 20. Switzerland | 45 184 |
9 out of 10 Poles choose hotels in the Dominican Republic.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the BLOG, apartments are not giving up the fight for clients against the large hotel chains that the Dominican Republic’s coastline is famous for. Now let’s look at which countries’ citizens most often rent hotel rooms, and who prefers holiday apartments?
Let me just remind you that a total of 4,347,237 people used hotel offers in the Dominican Republic in 2022, of which 50,223 were our compatriots, and this is how it was distributed among countries:
| 1. USA | 1,711,464 people |
| 2. Canada | 629 525 |
| 3. Colombia | 186 341 |
| 4. England | 182 484 |
| 5. France | 156 371 |
| 6. Germany | 155 554 |
| 7. Argentina | 133 684 |
| 8. Spain | 100 547 |
| 9. Chile | 78 430 |
| 10. Russia | 77 420 |
| 11. Puerto Rico | 77 420 |
| 12. Dominicans | 69 849 |
| 13. Brazil | 61 932 |
| 14. Peru | 56 731 |
| 15. Poland | 50 223 |
| 16. Italy | 49 755 |
| 17. Portugal | 44 349 |
| 18. Mexico | 39 679 |
One in three Americans chooses an apartment for vacation.
For a change, let’s look at which countries chose holiday apartments in the Dominican Republic and what percentage of visitors from a given place this represents. This will allow us to see where the Dominican Republic is primarily associated with all-inclusive hotels. In 2022, the total number of people who chose apartments was 3,595,476.
| 1. Dominicans from outside the country | 1 288 196 | 95% of all chose apartments |
| 2. USA | 885 732 | 34,1 % |
| 3. Local Dominicans | 635 907 | 98,2 % |
| 4. Canada | 84 766 | 11,8 % |
| 5. Colombia | 70 292 | 27,3 % |
| 6. Spain | 59 189 | 30,6 % |
| 7. Venezuela | 51 623 | 76,3 % |
| 8. Puerto Rico | 41 625 | 34,9 % |
| 9. France | 35 489 | 16,2 % |
| 10. Germany | 29 447 | 15,8 % |
| 11. Italy | 26 831 | 35,0 % |
| 12. Argentina | 22 330 | 12,5 % |
| 13. Chile | 18 683 | 15,6 % |
| 14. Haiti | 17 873 | 61,8 % |
| 15. Russia | 17 506 | 18,2 % |
| 16. Mexico | 16 025 | 28,7 % |
| 17. Peru | 14 667 | 20,5 % |
| 18. England | 13 205 | 6,7 % |
| 19. Switzerland | 12 583 | 27,8 % |
| 20. Brazil | 9 402 | 13,1 % |
| 21. Ecuador | 9 380 | 26,4 % |
| 22. Panama | 8 663 | 34,2 % |
| 23. Netherlands | 8 090 | 26,6 % |
| 24. Belgium | 6 203 | 18,3 % |
| 25. Portugal | 5 894 | 11,7 % |
| 26. Cuba | 5 552 | 51,4 % |
| 27. Poland | 5 131 | 9,2 % |
In summary, 2022 was a record year for tourism in the Dominican Republic. The increase in the number of tourists, the diversity of nationalities, and the interest in various forms of accommodation indicate the potential of this Caribbean country. It seems that the future of tourism in the Dominican Republic is predetermined and will remain among the top most visited holiday countries in the world, and the constantly growing hotel base and new apartment investments will only sustain this trend.
