Dominican Tourism Posts a Record First Half and Puts 12 Million Visitors Within Reach

Caribbean Journal, July 5, 2026

The Dominican Republic had the best first half in its history: 6,616,671 visitors between January and June 2026, as announced by Tourism Minister David Collado. The figure is 7.7% above the first half of 2025 and 11% above that of 2024. Of the total, 4,963,542 arrived by air and 1,653,129 by cruise ship. If the trend continues, the country will exceed 12 million visitors in 2026, a new annual record.

In June, 975,012 visitors arrived, and air arrivals that month were 39.1% higher than in June 2019, before the pandemic. The United States is the main source market, with 53% of June arrivals, followed by Colombia (8%), Canada (7%), Puerto Rico and Argentina (5% each), and the United Kingdom and Chile (3% each).

Visitor satisfaction is also high: they rate their experience 4.4 out of 5 and 92% say they would return. Hotel occupancy averaged 71% over the half. For owners of vacation rental properties, these figures confirm solid, diversified and growing tourist demand.

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