The arrival of tourists from Oceania and Africa to the

The arrival of tourists from Oceania and Africa to the Dominican Republic is increasing

Data from this organization shows that 1,341 people entered the country from Oceania from January to July, an increase of 86.1 percent compared to the same period in 2021, when only 187 arrived.

Of these, more than a thousand live in Australia and 177 in New Zealand, while 21 come from French Polynesia, Guam (19), New Caledonia (17), Western Samoa (eight), Fiji (four) and the rest from Kiribati.

The bank said that similarly, the arrival of African travelers increased by 81.7 percent from January to July this year, affecting a total of 2,702 residents in 50 countries on the continent.

The countries with the largest tourist presence in the Caribbean country were South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria (in that order).

While 157,673 citizens traveled from South America in the first seven months of 2021, the figure rose to 558,917 from January to July this year, with Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Peru being the largest emitters.

The central bank attributed the increase in part to improving air links between the Dominican Republic and South America with the emergence of new routes with low-cost airlines.

The European market, the second most important for the national tourism industry after the United States, recorded a growth of 60 percent between January and July 2021 and a similar period in 2023.

He warned that this pace slowed by 44.2 percent after the arrival of just over half a million foreigners so far this year, while it exceeded 800,000 in 2022, a behavior that he said was due to inflation and the high costs for aviation fuel. among other things.

Regarding the development of the North American market, the company pointed out that two million 732 thousand 217 people from Canada, the United States and Mexico have come here so far this year, 54.9 percent more than in the same period in 2021, as they added one million 231 thousand 978.

ode/mpv