Air transport supports an estimated USD 12.9 billion in economic activity in the Dominican Republic, equivalent to 10.6% of national GDP, according to IATA’s Value of Air Transport country report. The wider footprint supports nearly 550,000 jobs across the economy.
Yet the headline figures tell only part of the story. The report points to a marked gap between aviation’s direct economic footprint and the much larger value generated through supply chains, employee spending and, above all, tourism. That distinction is central to understanding how air transport contributes to the Dominican economy.
A much smaller direct aviation footprint
Direct aviation activities employ 14,300 people and generate USD 342.5 million in economic output, equivalent to 0.3% of GDP.
IATA’s report defines this direct ecosystem broadly. It includes airlines, airport operators and on-site businesses, air navigation service providers and manufacturers.
Within that perimeter, airlines account for USD 105.5 million in economic output and 3,100 jobs. Airports, ANSPs and civil manufacturing contribute a further USD 237 million and support 11,200 jobs.
These figures are substantial, but they remain far below the overall USD 12.9 billion footprint associated with aviation. The difference reflects the wider channels through which air transport interacts with the economy.
Tourism drives most of the wider impact
The largest component is tourism supported by aviation.
According to the report, this activity contributes USD 12 billion to GDP and supports 513,300 jobs. International tourists are also estimated to contribute USD 10.1 billion annually to the Dominican economy through purchases of goods and services from local businesses.
The scale of those figures shows where much of aviation’s broader economic value materialises. It is not confined to airline balance sheets or airport operations. It extends into accommodation, food services, ground transport and other activities linked to visitor demand.
This distinction matters. The report does not suggest that airlines and airports directly generate USD 12.9 billion. Rather, the total includes wider supply-chain and employee-spending effects, alongside the much larger contribution of tourism enabled by air access.
Air access as economic infrastructure
For the Dominican Republic, the findings position aviation as more than a transport sector. Air access underpins an economy with deep exposure to international visitor flows.
That role is particularly visible in the contrast between the 14,300 jobs directly supported by aviation and the 513,300 jobs associated with aviation-supported tourism. The gap illustrates how connectivity can transmit economic value well beyond airports and carriers.
It also creates a specific form of interdependence. The economic contribution associated with air transport depends not only on the performance of aviation operators, but on the ability of the wider destination economy to convert international access into local spending, employment and business activity.
The result is a model in which aviation’s largest contribution is found outside the sector’s direct boundaries. For the Dominican Republic, the value of air transport lies as much in the economic activity it enables as in the activity generated by aviation itself.
Source: IATA, “The Value of Air Transport to the Dominican Republic”. Main economic indicators refer to 2023 and draw on data including Oxford Economics and other sources identified in the report.
