Tourism continues to boom to the Dominican Republic. 

The country, long the most popular tourism destination in the Caribbean by visitor volume, posted a sizzling first quarter, according to passenger data from the country’s Civil Aviation Department. 

In all, the country handled 3.812 million passengers in the first quarter of 2022, including just under 1.3 million in January across a total of 28,781 flights. 

In February, that success continued, with 1,177,647 passengers transported — three times the number from February 2021. 

The latter represented the country’s best month for passenger traffic since the onset of the pandemic. 

In all, 266 different commercial airlines from around the world flew to the country in the first quarter, a number that will expand in May with the debut of the new Dominican Republic-based airline, Arajet. 

And while much of the country’s success has been in its traditional tourism stronghold of Punta Cana, the country has been working to push other destinations — most notably Santo Domingo, which continues to see growth, both in hospitality traffic and the addition of new air routes.

“These operations demonstrate confidence in the strength of the Dominican market,” said Jose Carte Piantini, president of the department. 

The numbers continue what has been stellar tourism growth for the country throughout most of the pandemic, buoyed by what had been the region’s most liberal entry health protocols (the Dominican Republic did not require pre-testing for visitors from the US). 

Only a few Caribbean destinations have seen similar tourism recoveries amid the pandemic, most notably the United States Virgin Islands.

For more, visit the Dominican Republic.