The Dominican Republic set a record for stayover tourist arrivals last year, with the most stayover arrivals in the country’s history and the most of any Caribbean destination, well, ever. 

So how are things going in 2024? Even better. 

The Dominican Republic is projecting that it will receive more than 2.3 million tourists by in the first quarter of 2024 — nearly 11 percent more than in what was a record-breaking January in 2023. 

That number would also represent a 22 percent improvement over the same period in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic. 

In January alone, the country welcomed more than 1 million combined air and sea arrivals, officials said this week. 

The growth is coming largely from the United States, where Dominican tourism officials say they are concentrating their efforts. 

The US accounts for about 39 percent of all tourists to the Dominican Republic as it stands. Officials say they want to grow that number by 20 percent. 

“We are starting this year in a strong way,” said Dominican Republic Tourism Minister David Collado.