The “departure” in a terminal is defined as the area destined for take-off to new destinations. For some travelers it is the return home after a few days of vacation. However, this action brings lucrative revenues to the treasury.
The contribution of outbound passengers totaled RD$3,473.9 million between January-April 2023. This is equivalent to 65.8% of the total income generated from tourism, which amounted to RD$5,276.2 million.
Data from the Dominican Central Bank (BC) establish that the tax on passenger departure by air and sea brought in RD$57,199.4 million between 2014 and January-April of this year, compared to RD$1,852.6 million collected by the tax on passenger departure by land.
There is an almost irrefutable truth: the more passengers visit the Dominican Republic, the more foreign exchange, jobs and foreign investment the nation captures. This thought is confirmed in the RD$8,427.7 million collected by the State from the tax on passengers departing by air and sea in 2022.
Comparing the data between 2019 and 2021 shows a decrease of 18.2%, going from RD$7,180 million to RD$5,870.2 million. In 2018, the treasury collected RD$6,932.8 million, RD$681.3 million more than the RD$6,251.5 million reported in 2017 and RD$1,041.3 million difference with respect to the RD$5,891.5 million in 2016. Meanwhile, in 2014 and 2015, revenues of RD$4,838.5 million and RD$5,535.2 million were generated, respectively.
Transit
The passenger departure tax via land brought RD$95.7 million to the state coffers in the first four months of this year. This tax is collected when tourists leave by highway to Haiti.
BC statistics indicate that the levy shows fluctuating growth in recent years, going from RD$312 million in 2019 to RD$253 million in 2022, for a difference of RD$59 million. In 2014, passenger flow contributed RD$162.9 million; in 2015, RD$138.1 million; 2016, RD$111.9 million; 2017, RD$163.8 million; and in 2018, RD$236.5 million.
Passenger flow
Commercial aviation is responsible for mobilizing tourists. Between January-April 2023, 3,259,462 passengers departed through the eight national airports. This is 6.7% more than the 3,053,462 tourists that entered the Dominican Republic, or a difference of 206,000 people.
The CB records that during 2022, 8,024,002 passengers departed, a difference of 2,499,041 people with respect to 2021, when the amount stood at 5,524,961, for a variation of 45.2%. When analyzing the data of the last decade, a progressive growth is evident. And no wonder, with the emergence of low-cost airlines and the expansion of multinationals that make connections in Santo Domingo or Punta Cana, air traffic increases.
In 2014, the official entity recorded 5,717,411 passengers departing by air. Between 2015 and 2016, a difference of 424,932 passengers is evident, going from 6,214,884 to 6,639,816 tourists. In 2017 it stood at 6,929,598, 4.8% less than the 7,285,506 passengers arriving by air in 2018 and a difference of 262,829 compared to 2019 (7,192,427). Meanwhile, in 2020 a departure of just 2,720,092 passengers is reported due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Origin
Of the 3,259,462 passengers departing by air between January and April 2023, 10.3% were residents (336,212) and the remaining 89.6% were non-residents (2,923,250). But the 336,212 residents were divided into 290,740 Dominicans who decided to travel for leisure, work or personal reasons and 45,472 foreigners.
Likewise, non-residents were broken down into 554,962 absent nationals and 2,368,388 international tourists. When analyzing CB statistics, it is evident that 1,324,487 passengers departed to North America, 154,742; Central America and the Caribbean, 350,193; and South America. To a lesser extent, departures to Asia (81,075), Europe (438,747) and the rest of the world (19,044).
Projection
The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, reiterates that the Dominican Republic will receive 10 million tourists in 2023. According to forecasts, this will mean a growth of 17.6%, going from 8.5 million to 10 million passengers.
This goal was set by the former President of the Republic, Danilo Medina, in 2012, who indicated that in 10 years the country would reach its goal.
Source: Eldinero.com
