Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: The Economy
earnings from tourism also multiplied dramatically, increasing
from US$430 million in 1986 to US$2.1 billion in 1997.
The tourist industry employed approximately 44,000 hotel
workers in 1995; an additional 110,000 were indirectly
employed by the sector. The rapid growth of tourism also had
an impact on other industries, such as construction, transportation,
and commerce as well as hotels, bars, and restaurants.
The number of stopover tourists increased dramatically from
some 850,000 in 1986 to 1,766,800 in 1994 to 1,930,000 in 1996
to 2,211,000 in 1997 (see table 9, Appendix). Most growth
came from Europe, which provided about 58 percent of stopover
tourists in 1997, compared with 9 percent from Canada
and 23 percent from the United States. Each year during the
1980s, the United States had accounted for more than 50 percent
of visitors. Stopover tourists usually stay at large hotels
owned or managed by international chains from Germany,
Italy, Japan, the United States, and Spain. The latter country
accounts for 37 percent of Dominican hotel beds. The total
number of hotel rooms available in the country was close to
40,000 in 1998, with approximately 13,000 in Puerto Plata, the
island's leading resort on the north coast. Other resorts frequented
by foreign tourists include Bavaro, El Cortecito,
Higiiey, and Punta Cana on the east coast.
Fortunately, the damage from Hurricane Georges in September
1998 affected only 5 percent of hotel rooms; the institutions
affected were expected to be back in operation by
December 1998. Although the number of visiting tourists continues
to rise— by 15.3 percent in the first half of 1998—they
are staying for shorter periods. This fact, combined with the
construction of more hotel rooms, has led to lower hotel occupancy
rates.
Foreign Economic Relations
Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments
Trade deficits continued to plague the Dominican Republic
during the 1990s. The Dominican trade deficit exceeded
US$2.7 billion in 1997 (see table 10, Appendix). The latest figures
available (preliminary figures) from the Central Bank
(BCRD) indicate that the trade deficit in the first half of 1998
was US$945 million. The sharp decline in world commodity
prices triggered by the Asian currency crisis of 1997 undoubtedly
had a strong negative impact on the Dominican Republic's
151