The Dominican Republic has just achieved its highest tourism numbers in history — welcoming more than 6.1 million visitors in the first six months of 2025, driven by a huge surge in cruise passenger growth.
The announcement was made by Dominican President Luis Abinader and Tourism Minister David Collado during a tourism sector event held in Santo Domingo this week, with leaders from across the industry in attendance.
In total, the country received 6,145,008 visitors between January and June 2025, an increase of 1,996,201 compared to the same period in 2019 and 185,166 more than the same period last year.
“This is a historic achievement,” said Minister Collado. “When you see these numbers together, you realize just how much we’ve grown.”
Abinader highlighted the tourism sector’s extraordinary growth and its significant impact on the national economy. He emphasized that now is “the best time to invest” in the Dominican Republic, particularly in tourism, crediting the success to strong public-private partnerships.
Collado reported that air arrivals accounted for 4,514,093 tourists, while cruise arrivals reached 1,630,915 — the highest maritime total ever recorded for a six-month period in the country.
Among airports, Punta Cana remained the top point of entry with 2,845,622 arrivals, followed by Las Américas International in Santo Domingo (888,331) and Cibao International Airport (454,804). Puerto Plata received 227,842 visitors, La Romana 62,441, and an additional 35,053 tourists arrived through other airports.
National hotel occupancy averaged over 77 percent during the first half of the year, Collado said.
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