A confluence of factors – some of them, apparently contradictory – has created conducive conditions so that, in a context of weakening of the dollar in the World currency marketDominican Republic benefits from an increase in tourist flow from both the United States and from Europe and other regions with strengthened currencies, such as the euro.
The dollar has depreciated more than 10 % So far this year and logic would indicate that weakening would stimulate tourism to the United States, from countries with strong coins. A weak dollar lowers trips to that country for Europeans, who can acquire more dollars for each euro, allowing them to pay less – in their currency – for accommodations, food and purchases.
However, reality shows the opposite: tourism to the United States is in decline. According to recent data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), cited by Bloomberg, the United States would lose US $ 12.5 billion in tourist revenues in 2025 and it is estimated that the expenditure of visitors will fall below US $ 169,000 million at the end of the year. Of the 184 economies analyzed by the WTTC, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, the United States would be the only one that would suffer a contraction in its tourism income during this year.
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Among the factors that explain this behavior – apparently contradictory against the weakening of the dollar – there are persistent elements such as the restrictions of the pandemic and others more recent, such as the change in the preferences of the travelers before the political and rhetorical climate of the current administration, marked by the policy of “America First” (first United States).
This implies that part of the global tourist flow that, logically, should be directed to the United States, could be redirected to destinations such as the Dominican Republic, located in the area of influence of the dollar. Currently, the 19 % of tourists that visit the country come from Europe, and the situation is especially favorable to expand that participation. The opportunity is served for European vacationers and other regions with strong currencies to choose us as an alternative to the United States, both for the benefits of their purchasing power and by the desire to avoid certain political climates.
In addition, the Dominican Republic could attract more American tourists to the extent that traditional destinations such as Europe are more expensive, while others, such as Costa Rica, experience a decrease in tourist flow due to multiple causes, including security problems. There are also countries that face other difficulties, such as Cuba, subject to new sanctions. The country already has land earned: in the first half of 2025, more than 45 % of tourists who arrived in the Dominican Republic came from the United States, compared to 35.55 % registered in 2019.
We are, therefore, before an exceptional situation to continue growing as Tourist destinationdriven both by those who come motivated by the accessibility of our prices, and by those who seek to put distance between them and a rhetoric that bothers them.
