Tourism Momentum: The Dominican Republic welcomed 5.64M visitors in the first five months of 2026 (+8%), with 4.15M arriving by air (+10.8%), as the sector keeps riding strong U.S. and Canadian demand. Tourism Promotion: MITUR and Arajet staged a Dominican Republic push at the Miami Marlins game, while Arajet added a new direct Argentina route (Punta Cana–Rosario) and Argentina is now the DR’s third-largest source market. Regional Trade Leadership: The DR will chair the Caribbean Trade Development Committee for 2026–2027, boosting its role in Greater Caribbean economic integration. Currency Watch: Central Bank reference rates for June 23 show the peso steadying, with the dollar at RD$57.05 buy / RD$59.07 sell and the euro at RD$66.11 / RD$70.56. Travel Fees Dispute: A new departure-tax increase has reignited debate over why the tourist card fee still gets automatically charged to Dominicans, despite court rulings—refunds require DGII requests. Public Services: The JCE removed birth-month restrictions for weekend/holiday ID renewals, aiming to cut bureaucratic delays. Finance & Banking: Banreservas won four World Finance awards, including Best Banking Group in the DR. Regional Development Funding: CAF pledged US$10B by 2031 to strengthen Latin America and Caribbean integration across trade, logistics, energy, food security, and tourism. Security/Trade Disruption: Caribbean shipping operators are reassessing routes and insurance amid heightened risk after the Venezuela crisis. Health Policy: The PGR launched a National Internship Program for law, psychology, and technology students. Infrastructure & Safety: A prolonged blackout hit Vista Bella III in Santo Domingo Norte, with residents reporting no effective response. Disaster Alert: A deadly hotel fire in Bayahibe forced evacuation of nearly 1,700 tourists and left at least one person dead.