By Mallory Glasses
Among the lush, white-sand countries hit especially hard by Covid-19’s impact on global travel, one impressive success story has emerged: the Dominican Republic. Following an exceptional post-pandemic recovery, the country has been recognized for the second year in a row as the world’s No. 1 tourism destination by leading travel intelligence provider, ForwardKeys.
Its 2023 Global Travel Trends Report found that the Dominican Republic’s tourism-dependent economy not only bounced back with exceptional speed, it is now receiving travel investments at rates that exceed pre-pandemic levels. The country welcomed 14% more international visitors in 2023 than it did in 2019—marking its best tourism year on record, with more than 10 million travelers for the first time in history.
ForwardKeys attributes the good fortune of the Dominican Republic’s tourism sector to a well-coordinated, multi-pronged crusade that together led to its unprecedented recovery.
“We want to highlight the marketing strategy that [the Dominican Republic] is implementing to succeed in high-end markets,” said Juan Gomez Garcia, senior director of intelligence at ForwardKeys, speaking about the prestigious popularity in London.
As the pandemic closed borders and shuttered tourism operations worldwide, the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism began developing a robust plan for the future. Their diverse strategy deployed effective destination marketing that piqued inspiration and anticipation for travel once restrictions were lifted, used distinctive measures to target remote workers whose numbers are now surging, and adopted unique methods to attract valuable investments from hospitality and travel companies in addition to consumers.
“These and [the country’s] other strategies are having a direct impact on the increase in arrivals this year versus previous years,” Garcia said.
In leading this strategic recovery, the Dominican Republic’s Minister of Tourism, David Collado, also credits the country’s creatives with localizing new tactics to capitalize on non-traditional markets and creativity in selling new segments of luxury, sports and wellness, among others.
“Reinstalling traveler confidence must be the priority for all tourism destinations,” said Collado as he accepted the distinction from ForwardKeys in November. “The consumer attitude towards brands and destinations is changing—something tourism authorities need to [account] for to give them full advantage of recovery once travelers begin to plan their next adventure.”
This innovative outlook may be key to the Dominican Republic’s thriving return to the global tourism scene. Collado’s dynamic strategy turns out to have taken advantage of a clear post-pandemic reality: travelers’ habits are changing.
ForwardKeys’ studies have revealed a number of new trends post-Covid-19, such as a dramatic increase in urban tourism, particularly stronger personal tastes for sustainable travel, and an increase in the circle of family adventures.
Proactively identifying and taking advantage of opportunities similar to those and other adjustments in global tourism has led to the Dominican Republic’s popularity as a premier destination for anyone with interests, at any time. As a result, air ticket booking prices for January-March 2024 are already 56% higher than the same time in 2019, according to ForwardKeys.
For Collado, the profitable numbers mean far less than the growing love and appreciation for his picturesque home country.
“Being number one in the world, a Caribbean island with 10 million inhabitants, fills us with satisfaction,” he stated.