Port-of-Origin Status Poised to Bolster Dominican Cruise Tourism

Cruise tourism promises to spur up the activity and the Dominican economy in general, prompting the Tourism Ministry and the private sector to team up to sell the Dominican Republic as a grand ports-of-origin destination.

In order to bolster the initiative, in December Don Diego Port will officially open as a home port in Sans Souci harbor, from where each week some 2,500 passengers will board the Royal Caribbean ship Legend of the Sea.

A large number of passengers from around the world is expected to arrive in Don Diego, with Santo Domingo not as a port of call, but rather the starting point from where they will tour the entire Caribbean.

Upon arriving at Don Diego Port tourists will be treated to the more than 500 years of Santo Domingo’s exciting post-Columbus history, beginning with the Colonial Zone.

Aside from Sans Souci the country will post a growth in the arrival of tourists aboard cruise ships in the ports at Samana and La Romana, throughout the summer.

According to Magaly Toribio, vice minister of Tourism for the Cruise Industry, cruise tourism in the October 2006 to April 2007 season posted better than expected numbers, a total of 235,000, with 40,000 arriving in Sans Souci, 155,000 in La Romana and 60,000 in Samana.