Central America and the Dominican Republic continue to position themselves as one of the regions leading the recovery of tourism in the Americas
Central America and the Dominican Republic continue to position themselves as one of the regions leading the recovery of tourism in the Americas. This, as a result of different actions such as the advance in the rate of vaccination of the population, the easing of restrictive measures and the transformation of the regional tourist offer.
This has allowed international tourists to find the perfect option for post-pandemic trips on the isthmus. According to data from the Secretariat for Central American Tourism Integration (SITCA), Europe is the second most important region in terms of the issuance of tourists to Central America and the Dominican Republic.
In 2021, a total of 1.2 million tourists from Europe arrived in the region, representing 14.8% of the total number of travelers received during that year. Of these, 691,590 travelers came from the markets prioritized by CATA. The ranking places them in the following order of importance: Spain with 227,159 tourists; Germany with 164,007 tourists; France with 158,735 tourists; Italy with 57,385 tourists; United Kingdom with 47,936 tourists; and the Netherlands with 36,368 tourists.
Likewise, the latest World Tourism Barometer of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Americas registered strong growth in January-July 2022 with +103% compared to 2021, reaching 65% recovery from 2019 levels. Particularly , Central America and the Dominican Republic showed a faster recovery towards pre-pandemic levels, compared to other subregions of the world, with -20% and -8%, respectively.
Given this scenario, Central America and the Dominican Republic would be experiencing a more robust recovery by the end of 2022, in view of the consolidation of the tourism recovery expected for 2023.
In this sense, during the second semester of 2022, CATA has intensified its actions to strengthen the business sector and adapt the regional tourism offer with innovation and resilience. In addition to focusing promotional actions on the European markets to provide quality tourist information, contribute to the recovery of confidence and position the region as a multi-destination with doors open to world tourism.