In a second successful cleaning day, brigades of the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), with the support of several institutions and community members of the province, removed tons of waste and debris to leave clean, almost entirely, the paradisiacal and tourist island of Cayo Levantado, considered one of the most coveted destinations in the Caribbean by tourists from all over the world.
This operation, carried out on the instructions of the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, seeks to promote this renowned tourist area that attracts thousands of foreign visitors every year, especially during the humpback whale watching season.
It also adheres to the plans of the Tourism Cabinet to achieve the transformation and equipping of beaches throughout the country.
The same is coordinated by the Vice-Ministry of Destination Management and the Executing Committee of Infrastructures in Tourist Zones (CEIZTUR) of Mitur and comes to give continuity to the first operation carried out last Wednesday, March 29.
In this first operation, some 350 people, including Mitur employees, from various institutions such as the Dominican Navy, Tourist Police, Municipal Mayor’s Office and community members of the province, managed to remove from the island three barges full of all kinds of waste, packed in plastic bags, mostly tree leaves and dry branches, due to the wide and varied vegetation of the rainforest that exists on the island.
For this second day of Holy Wednesday, and in spite of an incessant rain, the team of brigadistas managed to surpass the number of barges of the previous operation, with the transfer of the wastes of the island without it being an obstacle to continue with the works until the afternoon.
All kinds of tools were used to remove the garbage, including rakes, picks, shovels, wheelbarrows, saws and others.
Permanent cleaning
Once the cleaning works in Cayo Levantado are finished, Mitur will assign, as in the other beaches of the country, a team of brigadistas who will work permanently in the popular tourist attraction, also known as Bacardi Island, informed Carlos José Machuca, sub-director of Tourism for the Northeast region.
Meanwhile, the president of the Association of Vendors of Cayo Levantado, Rafael Henríquez, thanked the helping hand of Minister David Collado for implementing this operation with the cleaning and removal of debris on the island, “which remained here since the passage of several storms and hurricanes on the island”.
He said that the action of the Minister of Tourism in favor of the promotion of Cayo Levantado keeps hopeful the artisans, owners of bars, restaurants and small businesses that operate there.
In addition to being widely visited during the whale-watching season from January to March, Cayo Levantado offers unique experiences for those who seek quiet places, fresh breezes and contact with nature and biodiversity.
It has brilliant white sand and palm-fringed beaches, where visitors arrive by boat-taxi from the port of Samaná on Avenida Marina and from other nearby points.
Source: Mitur.gob.do
