The Caribbean’s most popular tourism destination continues to see strong growth.

The latest data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization show a total of 5.95 million visitors arriving in the Dominican Republic last year, a 6.7 percent increase compared to 2015.

It’s the kind of growth the destination will need to show to reach its stated goal of 10 million annual stayover tourists by 2023.

The country saw its strongest growth from international tourists outside of hubs in the US, Canada and Europe, meaning a large increase from the sought-after Latin American market.

Indeed, that segment accounted for 1.84 million tourists in 2016, the second-largest total beyond the country’s traditional primary source market, the United States.

— Caribbean Journal Staff