Punta Cana grabs 53% of tourists who arrived in June

Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) has cemented itself as the undisputed gateway for Dominican tourism. According to data published by Dominican Today, in June PUJ accounted for 53% of all tourists who entered the country by air. The number will not surprise anyone who tracks the eastern destinations, but it does help gauge the real pulse of demand.

• In the first half of the year, the Dominican Republic received 37,895 commercial flights, an all-time record representing a 7.7% increase over the same period last year, the same source reports. Everything suggests that air connectivity remains the main growth driver, and Punta Cana continues to be its biggest beneficiary.

My take is clear: PUJ's dominance is no surprise, but it is a wake-up call for the country's other airports. This is not about taking credit away from Punta Cana, which has built an unbeatable hotel and service ecosystem, but rather that Samaná, Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo need a more aggressive promotion and connectivity strategy if they want to claw back market share.

The June figure reinforces the idea that investing in air connectivity is the most profitable move any Dominican destination can make. And PUJ, with its record flight numbers, already proves the formula works.