During the first six months of 1998, the DR received double the number of cruise ship passengers that visited last year during the same period. El Siglo newspaper, citing statistics from the Dominican Port Authority, reports that from January to June of last year, 130,450 passengers arrived on 128 ships. This year some 263,443 tourists disembarked from 230 ships. During the first six months of this year, 158,910 travelers disembarked in Santo Domingo ports, a major increase from the 50,106 that arrived in the entire year 1997. La Romana received 85,187 visitors during the first six months of the year, up from 79,246 in the entire 1997. Despite the problems with the dredging of the port, Puerto Plata received 17,303 travelers during the first six months, up from 1,068 in the entire year of 1997. Port Authority statistics show that some 1,482 passengers disembarked in Samaná, up from 30 last year. Manzanillo Port, in the Northwest, received 561 passengers this year. No arrivals are reported for 1997. The Ministry of Tourism says that up to April of this year, the number of cruise ship arrivals is equal to the number of arrivals for the entire year 1997. The Ministry reports that 13 cruise ships touched port 130 times through June of this year. Through April 1998, some 129,089 passengers had arrived, while the total of last year was 152,325 visitors. Cruise ship passengers are primarily from the United States, followed by the British, Germans and Canadians.
