Dominican Republic Keeps Rewriting Tourism Records, Topping 8 Million Visitor Mark By August

The Dominican Republic continues to rewrite its own records, welcoming 8,005,257 visitors in the first eight months of 2025, according to new data released by Tourism Minister David Collado.

The figure represents a 49 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019, a 13 percent jump over 2023 and a 2.8 percent rise against last year. It came after another surging month in July, buoyed by a dramatically improved cruise industry.

“This is another record, surpassing ourselves once again by receiving more than 8 million visitors in just the first eight months of the year,” Collado said during a presentation at a Santo Domingo hotel.

From January through August, the country reported 6,085,053 arrivals by air, an increase of 2 percent compared to last year. Cruise arrivals surged even more dramatically, with 1,920,204 passengers — a 166 percent increase over 2019, 25 percent higher than 2023 and up 5 percent compared to the same period in 2024.

In August alone, the Dominican Republic welcomed 707,175 air arrivals, 569,665 of whom were international tourists. Dominican-origin visitors accounted for 137,510, or 19 percent of the total. Combined with cruise passengers, the month’s overall visitor tally reached 807,413.

The United States remained the largest source market, contributing 46 percent of visitors, followed by Canada with 15 percent, Argentina with 6 percent, Colombia with 5 percent and Puerto Rico with 3 percent. Punta Cana International Airport continued to dominate traffic, handling 58 percent of August’s arrivals, followed by Las Américas at 24 percent, Cibao at 13 percent, Puerto Plata at 3 percent and La Romana and others accounting for the remainder.

Collado credited the country’s strong public-private partnership for sustaining momentum, pointing to the Dominican Republic’s position as a global reference point for successful tourism growth.

“We have worked tirelessly and transparently with a formidable team. That is the foundation of our success,” Collado said.