Tourism

Having It All

Tourism

The Dominican Republic is the undisputed champion when it comes to tourism in the Caribbean, with visitor numbers continuing to climb.

Added to arrivals by air, cruise passenger visitor numbers were up 12.3% in 1H2014 over 1H2013. This figure is particularly heartening for the cruise ship segment of the industry, as it suffered during the latest world economic recession. Cruise passenger arrival numbers for the Dominican Republic slumped by a hefty 29% back in 2009-2010. The latest figures, however, show that this downturn is reversing. The cruise lines calling at Dominican ports include heavyweights in the market, such as Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Princess Cruise Line, and Holland America. And the country has the infrastructure to attract these players in the lucrative cruise trade. The three main Dominican ports of Santo Domingo, La Romana, and Samaná in the North, all have the necessary facilities to receive modern, mega cruise ships. In particular, Santo Domingo Port has two new cruise terminals, Don Diego Terminal with 400 meters of piers, and Sans Souci Terminal which can handle nearly 400,000 passengers.

The country is obtaining valuable revenue and new employment opportunities from these cruise visitors coming ashore for day excursions to historic monuments, golf courses, beaches, and various nature spots. Some of the highlights are Colonial City, Teeth of the Dog Golf Course, and El Limon Falls just to name a few of the attractions accessible to day visitors.

The cruise segment of the tourism industry is set for further expansion too. In January 2014 Carnival Cruise Lines unveiled a new private cruise port development on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast near Puerto Plata. The $65 million Amber Cove Cruise Center project is a two-berth port capable of accommodating two post-Panamax cruise ships, equivalent to around 10,000 passengers a day, according to the company’s own press releases. The project is scheduled for completion in 2015.

Naturally enough, the US and Canada continue to be the biggest source of inbound tourists to the Dominican Republic given their geographic proximity. In 2010 North America accounted for 45.7% of the country’s tourists, and by 2014 this figure had risen to 60%. In 1H2014 931,220 tourists from the US and 462,582 tourists from Canada visited the Dominican Republic up 12.1%, and a modest 0.8%, respectively on 1H2013. The next largest source of inbound tourists is Europe, with 1.1 million Europeans visiting the Dominican Republic in 2013. In 1H2014 some 614,029 European tourists entered the country, representing an increase of 7.6% over the same period in 2013. Of these countries, the largest number of visitors comes from France, followed by Germany, and then Spain. The German market in particular is on the rise, up 14% for 1H2014 compared to 2013 figures for the same period.

A PLACE TO LAY YOUR HEAD

At present the Dominican Republic has in excess of 70,000 rooms in its hotel stock ranging from budget through to five-star resorts. This number is more than any other Caribbean country. According to Travel Weekly, a further 2,467 rooms are currently under development either to expand the portfolio of existing brands, or to accommodate new entrants to the hotel market. Even with this high level of hotel stock, occupancy rates are extremely high at around 87.3%, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

MANY BASKETS

So what is the country’s recipe for tourism success? Obviously there are numerous natural advantages that allow the Dominican Republic to pull in tourists, including its enviable climate and 1,200 km of coastline containing a significant number of desirable beaches. But these natural advantages are not the whole story. The country has worked hard to refine its tourism infrastructure through building projects, regulatory incentives, and good planning. Furthermore, the government’s own investment in infrastructure projects, such as its 2012 Coral Highway linking Punta Cana to Santo Domingo, have been supplemented by significant foreign investment. For example, hotel chains from Germany, Spain, and France have added a FDI boost to the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic. This has been helped along by the fiscal incentives on offer, which create a welcoming investment climate. At the moment the government provides a 15-year tax exemption to hotels, resorts, and tourist related activities. Further, for existing hotels and resorts of at least 15 years old that remodel or rebuild more than 50% of their facilities there is a 100% tax exemption on offer.

Importantly, the country has managed to make itself appealing to a very broad range of tourists. Visitors span all categories, including high-end luxury, romantic get-aways and weddings, golf and water sports, through to families looking for a safe, friendly, reasonably priced beach holiday. And being able to cater to all these categories had proved to be a winning formula for the Dominican Republic. According to the latest quarterly survey undertaken by the country’s Central Bank, 96.6% of all tourists visiting the Dominican Republic in 2013 said that they would return to the country. And 90% said that their expectations were fully met. These are impressive results that the country can be proud of. The food quality, accommodation, hotel facilities, local transportation, as well as the beaches and entertainment also fared well. Between 69%-65% of the tourists surveyed rated these facilities as excellent or very good. In its 2014 marketing campaign the Ministry of Tourism used the slogan—Dominican Republic Has It All—and this does indeed appear to be the case as the tourism industry continues to go from strength to strength.

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