While it is true that the fate of Puerto Plata Although the arrival of cruise ships in its two ports is booming, it cannot be overlooked that, in order to sustain the aforementioned segment, which is part of the tourism boom that the Dominican Republic is experiencing, the complementary offer outside the docks must be attractive and sustainable over time. The intention is for cruise passengers to disembark to get to know the area and make purchases that boost the economy.
And it is a situation marked by a cancellation, last July, to a cruise of the company Carnival Cruise Line with a tour of the Atlantic Tourist Traindue to not having authorization from the mayor’s office, could tarnish the great moment that ports like the one are experiencing Amber Cove.
Carlos Rodolipresident of the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Companies of the North (Ashonorte), informed arecoa.com that the situation could reduce the number of ships touching the North zone, since up to now there are three complementary offers in Puerto Plata that are stopped due to procedural problems, mainly due to the Town hall and of the Intrant in the area.
“We must remember that cruise lines go to destinations because it is business. They do not only make money from the tickets they sell to the cruiser, but also from the excursions and from what they sell on board, regardless of whether the destination is very attractive or not, as there are many in the region,” he said.
He said that the association wants “that the processes can flow because at the end of the day when other competing destinations that are strengthening themselves, at a national level such as Samana, Cabo Rojo…and at an international level, Puerto Plata should not become unattractive and uncompetitive for cruise lines.”
He also said that there are cruise ships that make more than 7 stops before arriving in Puerto Plata and the destinations that provide the most benefits are the ones that the lines pay more attention to. “We cannot allow Puerto Plata to lose the position that it has worked so hard to gain.”
To this end, the director said that it is necessary for the mayor’s office to understand, as well as other institutions, that Puerto Plata is a tourist destination and that we must not lose focus.
“This type of product (complementary offer) is available in all tourist destinations and especially in cultural and historical ones such as Puerto Plata,” he recalled.
Rodoli explained that the main attractions are outside the urban area such as Damajagua, he Cable car, Ocean World Adventure Park, among others… however in the urban area, in the historic center, there is not much attraction other than the walk along the street of umbrellas and the Paseo de Doña Blanca, so they are trying to bring other interesting proposals, such as the Atlantic Tourist Train, so that the cruise passenger can get off the ship, visit and at the same time boost the economy.
“With the new project, above all, we hope that they will take with them the expectations of the entire province through a narrative that will be given to them throughout the tour and thus have information about the destination and want to repeat the visit by air and spend several days in the province,” he emphasized.
It is recalled that in the last report, prepared by the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) on the arrival of visitors to the Dominican Republic, until July 2024, 727,844 cruise passengers arrived through the Amber Cove port in 158 operations and 641,418 through the Taino Bay in 182 operations.
If the government and tourism entities in the area do not come to an agreement on the “conflict”, the figures presented by Mitur, which at the same time have prospects of increasing, would decrease considerably, affecting the great boom that the cruise segment is experiencing, not only in the destination, but in the country.
