Hotel occupancy near 70%

The Dominican Republic’s tourism sector is recovering very fast with hotel occupancy now nearing 70 per cent.

Latest figures show that the country’s tourism sector currently has 73,000 rooms in operation, which averages an occupancy rate of 69 per cent. This shows the extent of the recovery, which is fast advancing.

The tourism data was disclosed by Minister of Tourism David Collado and Rafael Blanco Tejera, president of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Asonahores).

They made the disclosure at the start of a vaccination programme in the Dom Rep to apply the third dose against COVID-19 to employees of the country’s tourism sector.

Collado and Tejera made the point that the addition of more rooms will depend on how the countries that emit tourists are opening their market to the Dominican Republic.

Collado explained that in Puerto Plata, where more European tourists go and in Bayahibe, frequented by Italians, are the locations in which fewer rooms are available.

Tejera argued that Russia and Canada have already announced the opening of their borders and therefore these markets can be reactivated. He contended that the destinations that depend on these tourism source nations will open their rooms and therefore the market will be even more competitive for the Dom Rep.