The director of the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom), Jean Luis Rodríguez, informed that 801,878 cruise passengers have arrived in the Dominican Republic, through the different ports of the country, compared to 337,715 who visited the country in 2021.
Through a message on his Twitter account, Rodriguez assured, “We continue to experience a vertiginous and exponential growth in the arrival of cruise passengers and this is evidenced by figures such as these that reflect that we have registered an increase of 237.44 percent in the arrival of passengers through the different ports of the country.”
According to Port Authority data, in January 2023, 272,005 passengers arrived in the country compared to 106,589 that arrived in the same month of 2022, for an increase of 255.19 percent.
In February of this year, some 250,918 passengers set foot on Dominican soil, representing an increase of 256.54 percent compared to the 97,808 that disembarked in February 2022. Meanwhile, in March there was an increase of 209.24 percent with 278,955 tourists arriving in the country via cruise passengers, while in March 22 there were 133,318.
Diversified platform
Rodriguez emphasized: “With these numbers we have shown in the last two years we have managed to diversify the platform for the reception of tourists and we are just one step away from being the leading cruise hub in the region”. He added: “With the arrival of these ships and their thousands of passengers by sea, we are promoting the development and dynamization of the economy in various parts of the country,” he emphasized. The terminals that have received the most vessels are Amber Cove and Taíno Bay, both in Puerto Plata, followed by La Romana, Samaná and Santo Domingo.
Governing institution of the DR port system
Apordom is the regulatory body of the national port system. Its task is to direct and administer the maritime ports and increase the country’s international trade.
It is defined as an organism with autonomous character, its own patrimony and independence and unlimited duration, subject to the prescriptions of Law number 70.
Source: Elcaribe.com.do
