The Dominican Republic’s hotels, bars and restaurants sector grew by 5.9 percent in the first four months of 2026, according to the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.
The Central Bank attributed the gain largely to the work of the Ministry of Tourism, citing promotional campaigns aimed at sustaining the country’s main source markets while encouraging greater diversification in where visitors are coming from.
A Record March for Arrivals
The number of non-resident passengers arriving by air through the country’s various airports topped 2.6 million tourists between January and March 2026.
March stood out in particular: it marked the first time the Dominican Republic welcomed more than 900,000 air passengers in a single month.
The Broader Economic Picture
Preliminary figures from the Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity (IMAE) for January through April 2026 showed average accumulated growth of 4.0 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.
In April alone, the IMAE posted a year-over-year increase of 3.8 percent — well above the 1.7 percent recorded in April 2025.
The BCRD noted that the result came against a backdrop of significant international uncertainty.
Where the Growth Came From
According to the Central Bank, the economy’s performance during the January–April period was driven chiefly by year-over-year expansion in the real value added of several key sectors: mining (10.7 percent), construction (4.6 percent), free-trade-zone manufacturing (3.7 percent), local manufacturing (3.6 percent) and agriculture (2.7 percent).
The services sector as a whole grew 4.4 percent, led by education (6.7 percent), financial services (6.2 percent), hotels, bars and restaurants (5.9 percent), health (5.7 percent), transportation and storage (4.9 percent) and other market services (4.6 percent).
Caribbean Journal Staff
2026-06-01 00:32:00