A whole week of festivities, culture, carnival and Caribbean sunshine has been experienced by the people of Puerto Plata with the arrival in just two days of 7 tourist ships at the ports of Amber Cove and Taino Bay, bringing 11,700 foreign tourists.
The visit of these ships during the first quarter of the year, and with greater momentum during the first days of March, have strengthened the growth and promotion of this destination known as the Amber Coast and Bride of the Atlantic.
In addition to the number of crew members traveling aboard these transatlantic liners, the total number of cruise passengers in the seven calls amounted to 18,667 visitors, according to figures provided to Mitur by both tourist ports.
At the Amber Cove terminal, on Wednesday 9, the ships Nieuw Statendam with 1,082 passengers and 843 crew members and Regal Princess with 2,632 tourists and 1,217 crew members arrived in the morning hours.
That same day, Taino Bay received on its shores the Celebrity Millenium with 950 visitors on board with 772 service members and minutes later the modern and cozy Seven Seas Splendor arrived with 552 passengers and 553 crew members.
The following day, Thursday, three other ships arrived at both ports, the huge Carnival Magic brought 3,653 tourists and 1,232 crew members arriving at Amber Cove, while the MSC Seashore brought 1,763 foreigners and the Norwegian Dawn brought 1,068 cruisers, on routes from Florida and other U.S. coastal destinations.
For the provincial director of the Ministry of Tourism in Puerto Plata, Stephanie Kfouri, this historic event with the daily arrival of up to four cruise ships with thousands of tourists, “has been a new hope for Puerto Plata”, while placing it on the world map as one of the main Caribbean destinations for its enormous historical, cultural, gastronomic wealth and the hospitality of its people.
POP CulturalFest
He said that taking advantage of the carnival time and the hot sun of Puerto Plata, thousands of visitors arriving on cruise ships have danced with joy and lived closely the culture and traditions exhibited in the first version of POP Cultural Fest.
This cultural and artistic project is organized by the Ministry of Tourism in alliance with the Tourism Cluster of the province, the support of the Mayor’s Office, the Governor’s Office and the Directorate of Culture, held in the Plaza Independencia (Central Park) of the municipality of San Felipe.
Kfouri added that many of the thousands of passengers arriving in this destination for the first time are visiting each of the attractions of the historic center with the help of tour operators, encountering a whole display of culture, folklore and Dominican carnival, receiving the smiles of the people of Puerto Plata and showing their desire to repeat the visit.
Cultural Fest POP, which continues until March 20, is the stage for artists, painters, cultural groups and carnival characters of Puerto Plata to show their creations, an event carried out with the objective of stimulating tourism and the active integration of the community.
