During a industry gathering hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic’s Tourism Minister David Collado has announced promising new growth trends for Caribbean travel, revealing that Puerto Rico has solidified its position as one of the Dominican Republic’s most valuable inbound tourism source markets. Data shared at the event shows that visitor numbers from Puerto Rico to the neighboring Caribbean nation have already climbed 7.7% year-to-date, a steady upward trajectory that outpaces many other regional source markets.
Addressing a packed audience of more than 200 travel industry professionals and media representatives, Collado shared official projections and historical figures: in 2025, a total of 269,000 Puerto Rican tourists traveled to the Dominican Republic, and the ministry forecasts that total annual arrivals will cross the 290,000 threshold by the end of 2026 if current growth holds.
The minister attributed this consistent, strong growth to two key strategic improvements rolled out in recent years: expanded targeted tourism marketing initiatives and significantly enhanced air connectivity between the two Caribbean destinations. He specifically called out the launch of low-cost carrier Arajet’s operations in the Puerto Rico market as a game-changing development, noting that the airline’s entry has expanded the range of flight options for travelers and driven greater fare competitiveness, making cross-Caribbean travel more accessible than ever for Puerto Rican visitors.
Beyond sharing growth data and projections, Collado used his visit to San Juan to convene a working meeting with the Dominican Republic’s public-private tourism marketing committee. The gathering focused on drafting and refining innovative new promotional strategies designed to further boost interest in the Dominican Republic among Puerto Rican travelers and cement the two destinations’ growing cross-regional travel ties.