The arrival of foreign tourists to the Dominican Republic plummeted in January by 72.56% compared to the same month last year, which is the first negative data after several consecutive months of gradual recovery following the closing of the borders set by the pandemic.
The Central Bank reported this 130,093 foreign tourists arrived in the country in the first month of the year, which is 55,837 less than in December, it was the best month since the start of the pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, the arrival of tourists to the Dominican Republic fell back to 1996 As a result, the country closed its borders between March and June and then recovered travelers at a very slow pace.
In January 2021, the arrival of Dominicans living abroad was also reduced by 9.5% to 75,218, adds the Central Bank’s report on the tourism sector, the most important in the Caribbean country’s economy.
In the document, the Central Bank emphasized that the preventive measures taken by tourists spending countries to prevent the spread of Covid-19 have negatively impacted the tourist flow to the country.
Since January 26, the United States, the main source of tourists to the Dominican Republic, has been demanding a negative coronavirus test to enter that country.
In addition, Canada, the second country in the number of tourists to Dominican beaches, canceled all its flights to the Caribbean until April 30 this year.
To try to attract American tourists, the Dominican government has announced it will pay for the covid-19 tests required by that country’s authorities.
At the same time, it has also launched a plan to boost local tourism, which includes discounts and financing facilities.