Last year some 270,830 tourists arrived by sea in 1997, of which 156,099 used the port of Santo Domingo, 5,566 the port of Puerto Plata, and 108,698 disembarked at La Romana (Catalina). Some 404 primarily small sailboat or yacht travelers disembarked by way of the port of Samana in the north east, and another 63 arrived using the port of Boca Chica, which is adjacent to the Santo Domingo Yacht Club. Maritime traffic is considerably up. In 1996, a total of 110,936 travelers arrived by sea, according to the report in the Listin Diario newspaper. At present seven ships a week are docking at Santo Domingo ports, bringing in German, Canadian, Puerto Rican, British and American tourists.
