Ocean World Adventure Park, one of the main attractions of Puerto Plata, is a complex that includes in addition to the water park: the marina, which is an official port of entry to the Dominican Republic, the Terrace restaurant and the different spaces for events such as the Great Hall and the Theater.
With the opening of the new Taino Bay port, Birgitt Heinsen, director of Development and Public Relations of the amusement park, said that the park’s occupancy with cruise passengers has increased, however there is still a high demand from the local market and international clients staying at the hotels.
“The local market has been very important to us during the post Covid-19 recovery as families needed open and safe spaces to recreate while we still had curfew and international markets travel restrictions. Many tourism companies were able to overcome this period thanks to the support of the local market,” he added.
He indicated that the different types of public interact safely while visiting the park, which is currently restructuring the protocols that will be maintained in coordination with the different companies that collaborate.
Heinsen said that the park has other international certifications such as American Humane that guarantee the health and welfare of the animals under its care and Travelife Partner for its efforts in sustainability, which guarantees that all the processes of the operation have been analyzed from a sustainable perspective in which they generate the least possible impact on the environment.
He also emphasized that the park contributes to the preservation of Dominican culture and the development of the community with actions that include the presence of local associations and artisans in the “Dominican Village” where they are present:
Chocolate Factory (Chocal – Chocolate Cuenca de Altamira).
It is a project that began in 2007 as an initiative of a group of women from Palmar Grande, a small community in the municipality of Altamira, Puerto Plata province, located 400 meters above sea level, which began the process of cocoa processing to add value to agricultural products that were not used in the community. It is currently run by 40 women entrepreneurs and is the main source of employment in this community.
Carved Handicrafts (Association of Artisans of Petrified Wood of Imbert-Asoartep)
The origin of the material dates back to the 70’s when the artisan Francisco Clase Ramos (Papito) found a soft stone with brownish veins that looked like a piece of wood and began to call it petrified wood. Two decades later the Association of Artisans was formed, which currently has about forty members and is the only one of stone carvers in the country.
It is an artisan process in which no machinery is involved, only machetes and sharp knives, which they call mochas. Their art is recognized nationally, officially deserving the municipality of Imbert to be called “Land of Artisans”.
Tobacco Factory Papo Cigars
Family business dedicated to the manufacture of quality cigars. From the cultivation of the leaves of local and Cuban species in their property located in Villa Gonzalez, municipality of the province of Santiago; they themselves carry out the process of collection and drying. They show our customers their skills and secrets in the rolling that they have learned for generations.
RePapel Puerto Plata
Repapel began with a group of women from highly polluted neighborhoods in Santo Domingo under the coordination of the non-profit organization IDDI (Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral) when they identified the health and hygiene problems resulting from the accumulation of garbage and waste in large areas of the community. Together they developed projects to eliminate these dumps and to improve the quality of life for families by generating benefits from these materials. By reusing materials such as paper, plastic bags, leaves, etc., they transform them into handicrafts and products such as wallets, earrings, diaries, personal and greeting cards, albums and key rings.
The successful model was replicated in the Playa Oeste neighborhood of the city of Puerto Plata where a group of women have been trained in the process of recycling and creating art from these materials.
Coffee Producers (Coffee Corner)
Project that supports the recovery of coffee plantations and forest areas. They offer 22 brands of organic and Dominican coffee from small producers and artisan coffee roasters. Each product comes from a single farm and is handled separately in order to better appreciate flavors and textures and thus enjoy the taste of each region.
“In addition, in our gift store we have the lines of: Mujer Puro Arte, Organization that supports women victims of violence- Kanarapai, Artisans of recycled products and we have a line of bundles made from used kite surf sails, with which we contribute to the community receives the opportunity to capture sales from cruise visitors who enjoy the attractions of the park,” he added.
