First-Quarter Tourist Inflow Up 8.2 Percent in the Dominican Republic

The number of airborne tourists that landed in the Dominican Republic during the first quarter of the ongoing year grew 8.29 percent compared to the same span of time in 2003, the country’s National Hotels & Restaurants Association (ASONAHORES) informed.

According to stats provided by ASONAHORES, the amount of incoming travelers climbed 7.6 percent in January, while figures in February and March peaked 12.32 and 5.03 percent respectively from the same months last year.

The report gathers information from the country’s six international airports and highlights that the inflow of trekkers through the Gregorio Luperon Airport in Puerto Plata (north) soared a whopping 25.8 percent in that period of time.

Passengers landing at the Punta Cana Airport (east) during the first quarter of 2004 were up 7.1 percent compared to the same three-month period the year before, while the Las Americas International Airport in the province of Santo Domingo sustained a 0.14 percent decline.

Reports issued by the Central Bank (BC) fix growth in the number of tourists in 16.8 percent with an 86.1 percent increase in revenues.

Last year, gains in the country’s hotels, restaurants and bars jumped 29.6 percent from 2002, especially as a result of a devaluated Dominican currency against the U.S. dollar and the Pan American Games held in Santo Domingo.

Tourism stands for the Dominican Republic’s premier income source, even ahead of money remittances sent Dominican nationals settled overseas that tally some $2.3 billion annually.

Dominican President Hipolito Mejia said recently he’s confident his country could get over the current economic crisis thanks to the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the good going of such strategic sectors as tourism.

The greenback has doubled its value from 2003 when the exchange rate averaged 17.56 pesos to the dollar. This year, though, the rate has reached 40 pesos to the dollar.

In the meantime, inflation jumped 24.4 percent in the first quarter of the year. Higher inflation rates cause the population’s purchasing power to slide dramatically and popular discontent to rise.