Tourists Flock to Dominican Republic in Record-Breaking Numbers

Despite a short blip due to the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, the travel rebound from the pandemic is well underway thanks to pent-up demand.

And, apparently, many people are heading to the Dominican Republic.

The Caribbean island nation just had the second-biggest month in its history of tourism as more than 566,000 travelers descended on the Dominican Republic in February, according to the Caribbean Journal.

The country relaxed its travel restrictions in September of 2021.

"Tourist flow levels continue to remain at pre-pandemic levels in the Dominican Republic, while most destinations in Central America and the Caribbean are nowhere near achieving such a recovery," Tourism Minister David Collado told the paper.

The Journal noted that nearly 60 percent of all tourists to the D.R. are coming from North America, and that's not a surprise given how aggressive Collado and the Dominican Ministry of Tourism has been in marketing - or re-marketing, if you will - the island.

Shortly before loosening its rules on tourists entering the country, the Dominican Republic launched a series of promotional visits to key cities - mostly in the U.S. - to hype the D.R. and reconnect with the leaders of the tourism industry in the different markets.

The trips were known as the DR RoadShows.

Collado said the country is still getting about 30 percent of its tourism from Europe and nine percent from other Latin American nations. Nearly 80 percent of all tourists are staying in Punta Cana.