The Dominican Republic’s remarkable tourism story in 2023 is getting even better, according to new numbers released by the country’s Ministry of Tourism. 

The Dominican Republic reported 621,575 visitors in May, meaning just under 3.38 million tourists in the first five months of the year — a figure never before seen in the history of Dominican tourism. 

That was an 11 percent increase over May 2022, and an 18 percent increase over May 2019, before the onset of the pandemic, just the latest sizzling number for the Caribbean’s most popular tourism destination. 

The Dominican Republic also reported 136,374 cruise passengers, exceeding prior records in 2022 and 2021. 

“If we add the 621,575 tourists who arrived by air and 136,374 cruise passengers, we will have 757,949 people visit us in the month of May, something never seen in the history of Dominican tourism,” said Dominican Republic Tourism Minister David Collado. 

Right now, the Dominican Republic is projecting what would be an all-time high for stay over visitor arrivals to the country: 7.9 million. 

The United States continues to dominate the country’s tourism sector, accounting for almost 52 percent of all visitors to the country, followed by Canada at 11.4 percent and Colombia at 4.2 percent. 

Punta Cana is still the country’s most popular destination, receiving just under 60 percent of all visitors.