“We are talking about a boom in cruise ship visits,” said Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia, speaking at the IFTM/Top Resa 2009 event in Paris. He said numbers show that cruise ship arrivals are up 24%, despite the general lull in travel.
He said that cruise ship arrivals to the DR have been increasing in the past two years. From 375,000 cruise arrivals in 2007, some 505,000 visitors arrived in 2008, and a greater number is expected by year-end 2009. The Minister predicted that this growth was set to continue, adding that the leading Caribbean cruise ship conference is booked for Santo Domingo in October 2010. The main players in the cruise industry will be visiting the city for The 17th Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (F-CCA) Conference & Trade Show from 25-29 October.
DR has three main cruise ship ports: Casa de Campo in La Romana, Samana and the Port of Sans Souci in Santo Domingo with its Don Diego and Sans Souci terminals.