Dominican Tourism Industry’s Growth Rate Takes Slight Skid, Report Says

The tourist industry’s growth, measured by the arrival of visitors by air, continues to decelerate, with a growth of only 1.4 percent in the first 4 months this year. The statistics show a 4.6 percent fall in the arrival of nonresident Dominican visitors and a growth of just 2.2 percent among nonresident foreigners.

The Central Bank reports that in the first 4 months this year 1.51 million tourists arrived in the country, just 21,429 more than in the same 2006 period, though in the same 2006 period that growth was of 151,778 and of 82,873 in 2005, which shows growth has considerably decelerated.

Tourism is the Dominican Republic’s main currency generator and with a yearly average growth rate of 10 percent. In the first four months of 2006 the figures were 4.5 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively.