Tourism and sports officials from the Dominican Republic travelled to Miami this week with a pitch: come for the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games, then stay to see the country. At a news conference on Monday, they said the event, which runs from July 24 to Aug. 8, will bring athletes and visitors to Santo Domingo and several other cities and could grow sports tourism.

Officials said the strategy aims to do more than fill stadium seats and promote sports tourism across the Dominican Republic. They said staging events across several cities, renovating facilities and encouraging travel beyond the capital could help make the Games a broader tourism offer. The message was aimed at regional travellers, including visitors from South Florida, who might use the competition as part of a longer holiday.

Games expected to draw thousands of athletes and visitors

José Monegro, president of the Santo Domingo 2026 organising committee, said about 6,200 athletes from 37 countries, including the Cayman Islands, were expected to compete, along with about 3,000 coaches, judges and other officials. He said the event would feature 40 sports and would be the largest Central American and Caribbean Games held to date.

The organising committee also expected the Games to draw between 200,000 and 300,000 visitors. Tourism Minister David Collado said his ministry expected a directly measurable impact of more than 100,000 people. The differing estimates reflected different ways of counting the event’s reach. Officials said the figures suggested a short-term boost for the visitor economy, including hotels, restaurants, transport and local attractions, although the eventual effect would depend on how many visitors stayed beyond the competition.

Monegro said the scale of the competition had grown in part because some events would serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Pan American Games. That had helped bring larger delegations than the region had seen in previous editions. He said the event was not only for athletes, but for the country as a whole.

"The Central American and Caribbean Games are not only a celebration for the athletes; they are a celebration for the country," Monegro said.

The event spans beyond Santo Domingo

The Central American and Caribbean Games are not limited to the capital. Competitions are planned for Santo Domingo and other cities, including Santiago, La Vega, Moca, Bonao, Cabarete, Sosúa, Baní and Punta Cana.

This wider footprint is central to the tourism pitch. Collado said visitors could attend events in Santo Domingo and then travel to the Colonial City, La Romana or Punta Cana. Organisers said that approach will help visitors see more of the country and support businesses outside the main conference and hotel districts.

"With the excuse of the games, I invite all Latin Americans to take advantage of this opportunity and visit the Dominican Republic," Collado said.

Like other Caribbean destinations, the Dominican Republic is using a sporting event to encourage visitors to travel beyond the main venue city. That approach is intended to spread spending more widely across the country. That could shape regional travel patterns and competition for leisure visitors looking for a short break after the Games.

Renovated venues and temporary housing were key to the plan

Organisers said they have renovated several facilities originally built or used for earlier international events, including Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, the aquatics centre and a volleyball complex. Monegro said the upgrades were designed to leave the country with venues that could host future regional and international competitions.

The athletes’ village was also built differently from some past major events. It consists of 1,200 apartments in a private housing development, Monegro said. The government would use the units during the competition before handing them over to buyers, avoiding the cost of constructing a permanent village solely for the Games.

Monegro said logistics were among the biggest challenges in staging the event. The Dominican Republic had not hosted a multisport competition of comparable scale since the 2003 Pan American Games, and the organising committee said the 2026 edition would test transport, accommodation and venue management across several cities.

A centenary Games edition and a wider tourism push

The 25th Central American and Caribbean Games marks 100 years since the first edition in 1926. It is also the Dominican Republic’s third time as host. Officials said that history gave the event added importance and makes the country’s role more visible in the region’s sporting calendar.

The Games also fitted into a broader government effort to diversify tourism, but officials did not say what share of arrivals or revenue they expected sports tourism to deliver, or how success would be measured after the event. Collado said the ministry had created a public-private committee to identify and support major sporting events that could attract international visitors. He added that tourism officials would use arrival data to measure how many people came specifically for the Games, rather than relying only on early projections.

The Dominican Republic has recorded strong visitor numbers in recent years, and officials used those figures to argue that sports could become another route for growth. At the same time, the Games are expected to present a practical test of the country’s ability to host large, spread-out events. If organisers meet their targets, the benefits will reach beyond stadiums and hotels and into the wider tourism economy.

The Games open at Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium on July 24 and close on Aug. 8. For the Dominican Republic, the event is meant to do more than award medals. It’s also a chance to show visitors the country beyond the capital, and to prove that sport can help drive travel, spending and long-term tourism growth.