With 446,492 international tourists in February (+6.1%), the Dominican Republic recorded almost one million tourists in the first two months of 2014, according to the Caribbean country’s Central Bank.

According to a report from Punta Cana Bavaro Online, analysis of the total tourist flow for January and February shows that non-resident arrivals totaled 895,641, equivalent to growth of 5.8% or 49,300 extra visitors compared with the first two months of 2013.

This growth is attributed to the recovery and improved economic outlook in Europe and the United States, as well as to the promotion activities carried out by the Tourism Ministry in coordination with the private sector in both traditional and emerging markets.

The Bank’s monthly report notes that this performance was influenced by the numbers of non-resident foreigners, up 6.6%, equivalent to an extra 50,496 visitors.

Total resident and non-resident arrivals by air amounted to 969,117 in the January-February period, up 5.2% compared with 2013, an increase of 47,569 visitors arriving at the country’s various airports.
In the January-February period, the North American market grew 5.8%, recording an overall increase of 25,395 additional visitors (United States 20,392, Canada 4,110 and Mexico 893). European tourist numbers were up 6.3% at 234,946 (an increase of 13,883).

In the case of visitors from this region, the Dominican report records a rise in visitors from Germany, with an increase of  5,591 passengers compared with the same period of 2013, followed by the United Kingdom (5,167), Russia (5,018), Ukraine (2,566) and Poland (1,077).

Tourist numbers from South America were up by 8,619 or 10.8%, recovering from the drop of 6,110 recorded in the same period of last year, based on rising numbers of visitors from Argentina (4,297), Chile (2,113), Brazil (1,387) and Venezuela (1,334).

Punta Cana retained its position as the leading destination in the Dominican Republic.

During January and February a total of 540,981 tourists passed through the Punta Cana international airport, 66.4% of arrivals in the Dominican Republic.

Next came the Las Américas and Puerto Plata airports, with 14.8% and 10.9%, together receiving 209,405 visitors. La Romana, Cibao, La Isabela and El Catey de Samaná airports accounted for 7.9% of the country’s total tourist arrivals.