For the first time since the pandemic began Punta Cana, Dominican Republic is reporting a higher hotel occupancy rate than Cancun, Mexico. Over Easter, Punta Cana's tourism sector rebounded recording a 71.3% hotel occupancy dominated by American tourists.
In Cancun, hotel occupancy was recorded at 65.1% which again was mostly American tourists but a large increase in European tourists was noted after flights from Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Poland, Frankfurt and London have now resumed.
“Despite restrictions in Europe, flights continue to operate with great capacity, said Lizz Cole Guerrero, Director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council. “We have also noticed the arrival of European tourists from other locations coming through through connections like Madrid and Paris.”
Cancun noted a decrease in tourists from South American countries such as Brazil due to large spikes in Covid-19 cases.
Dominican Republic Tourism Rebounds
The Dominican Republic has not seen the rebound Cancun has had over the last year until now. With the rollout of vaccines surging in both the Dominican Republic and the United States, more tourists are feeling comfortable visiting the Caribbean island. The Dominican Republic has long been Americans second favorite international destination after Mexico.
Easter week saw over 102,212 visitors, with 72% of tourists coming from the United States, 6% from Spain, 4% from Panama and 3.3 % from Puerto Rico reported David Collado, Dominican Republic's Tourism Minister.
Punta Cana's hotel occupancy reached 70% for the first time since the pandemic started. Boca Chica and Juan Dolio saw the highest occupancy rates coming in at almost 90%. Total hotel occupancy for the Dominican Republic was 55%.
The Caribbean island has now vaccinated over 1 million residents.
Dominican Republic Has Relaxed Entry Requirements
The Dominican Republic has easy entry requirements which only requires visitors to fill out an online form before arrival and be subject to random Covid-19 breath tests at the airport.
Visitors are not required to get tested before arrival and do not need to quarantine. In a recent promotion, the Dominican Republic also offered all visitors staying in resorts free medical insurance that covers Covid-19.
Cancun Receives More Tourists
While the Dominican Republic may have had a higher occupancy rate, Cancun received far more tourists estimated at over 650,000 compared to 102,000 in the Dominican.
Cancun still is the most popular international destination for Americans and also one of the top destinations in the world during the pandemic. With incredible connectivity from almost every major city in the U.S. and easy entry requirements that include no testing or quarantines, over 10 million tourists visited Cancun in the past year.
The only requirement for Americans headed to Mexico is to fill out an online health declaration form. While a Covid-19 rapid test is required to return home, most resorts now include free testing on site.
Read More: Travel Insurance That Covers Covid-19
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