Campos: ”By the end of 2023 we will inaugurate Samaná Bayport and Port Cabo Rojo, receiving Oasis-type cruise ships in both locations”.
According to Alejandro Campos, president of the Presidential Commission for Modernization and Port Security of the country, this data activates a productive chain, through which up to 25 million dollars circulate monthly, which are received each month by micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the sector.
For Campos, that the country is positioned as a Caribbean Cruise Hub is one of the main legacies of President Luis Abinader as it allows the reception of millions of cruise passengers a year, who during the hours of visit to our country, make sightseeing tours, visits to beaches, souvenir shopping, among other activities that boost the economy at all levels.
“We are talking about the average spending per visitor is around $100, of which 57% is attributed to gift stores, 30% on tours, 8% on local transportation and 5% on beverages and entertainment. Consolidating our position as the Caribbean Cruise Hub is an injection of foreign exchange that boosts the local economy of the provinces where we have cruise terminals,” he explained.
When translating the number of tourists into foreign exchange, Campos detailed that “In the month of February 2023 we received 250,918; which represented an economic spill of around 25 million dollars that undoubtedly impacted the quality of life of thousands of families”.
2023 is the year of the DR’s consolidation as a Cruise Hub.
For Campos, although the country’s geographic conditions and its natural assets have always been attractive to foreigners, “what was missing was infrastructure and above all the will to exploit the potential that our country has. The year 2023, as mentioned by President Luis Abinader, is the year of the consolidation of the Dominican Republic as a Caribbean Cruise Hub”.
In this context, Campos explained that “We are beginning to see the fruits of what we at the Dominican Port Authority have sown with the arrival of Jean Luis Rodríguez in 2020. We managed to make the Taino Bay project a reality, we inaugurated its first stage and then the second; we began to receive Oasis-type cruise ships in La Romana and by the end of 2023 we will inaugurate Samaná Bayport and Port Cabo Rojo, receiving Oasis-type cruise ships in both locations”.
APORDOM’s mission to bring about change in the sector
Campos, who also chairs the Board of Directors of APORDOM, sees the key to success as the synergy between the sectors, understanding that this entity, “following the vision of President Abinader and adhering to Law 70-70, we have successfully implemented a relationship of harmony and cooperation with the private sector, providing guarantees to both domestic and foreign investors. Under the leadership of Jean Luis Rodriguez and a Board of Directors whose character is public-private, decisions have been made to benefit the development of the cruise sector that ends up directly impacting the people”.
Among the transformations and changes that the sector has undergone during this administration, he cited: “we received in 2020 three cruise terminals that were not operating due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and only one of them had the capacity to receive Oasis type cruise ships, and today we have Taíno Bay, with two stages in operation”.
He added: “We are building Samaná Bayport and Port Cabo Rojo, in the next few days we will start the construction of a terminal in Arroyo Barril, and we are working on a proposal for Barahona, we will go from 3 to 8 terminals, almost 300% growth, it is a real and tangible change today, but it also shows that we do not stop and we continue working to continue transforming the sector”.
President Luis Abinader’s boost to the sector
Describing the president as a visionary man who understands the tourism sector very well, Campos maintains that “A few days after taking office, he delegated us to take charge of making Taino Bay a reality and this was done, he has followed up and created bridges between APORDOM and other institutions both public and private, so that the development and transformation of cruise tourism is done by taking firm and concrete steps.”
“President Abinader’s goal is the social development of the Dominican Republic, which can only be achieved with the dynamization of the economy, the support of the State to sectors as important as the port and tourism, and the protection of private investment, always adhering to transparency,” he assured.
Source: Mitur.gob.do
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