Cruises, a fundamental contribution to the development of Puerto Plata

Executives from the Taino Bay Tourist Port and the Dominican Port Authority (APORDOM) received on the Atlantic coast the cruise ship "Allure of the Seas", the Royal Caribbean, considered one of the largest cruise ships in the world and the largest anchored in Dominican waters.

The director of the Dominican Port Authority, Jean Luis Rodríguez, highlighted the economic impact that the performance of “Allure of the Seas” represents for the country and the confidence it generates in the cruise sector, managing to position the Dominican Republic in its objective to become the Caribbean cruise hub.

“Based on the fact that each cruise passenger spends about 100 dollars per capita on land, we would be talking about an economic spill in Puerto Plata of more than half a million dollars. This fills us with pride, seeing in Taino Bay a dream come true not only for those who descend from the cruise ships, but also for the people of Puerto Plata, whose quality of life has been impacted with the arrival of more and more cruise passengers”, said Jean Luis Rodríguez. .

Harold Sanders, manager of Taino Bay, affirmed that these 5,822 cruise passengers are the largest amount they have received since the opening of the terminal and that with the arrival of "Allure of the Seas" the port is placed within the international threshold with capacity of reception of this type of boats.

“92% of the people on the ship got to know Puerto Plata and that speaks of an achievement for Taino Bay and for the province, which receives an important economic spill. Of the 5,370 passengers who got off, 1,612 went on a tour, 696 took taxis to different parts of the city, and the remaining 3,162 distributed themselves, walking to the historic center and visiting the port, leaving on average a little more than half a million dollars only in one day for Puerto Plata” assured Sanders.

As part of the ceremony to receive a ship that arrives at the coast for the first time, the traditional exchange of plates and keys with “Allure of the Seas” was carried out and with this we certified its first passage through the country.

"Allure of the Seas", belonging to the "Oasis" class, has capacity for 6,314 passengers and 2,745 crew members staying in 2,700 cabins. The vessel is 362 meters long by 61 meters wide and has 16 decks, so it is part of the mega-cruise ships that cross the seas.

The ship remained for eight hours on the Dominican coast and left Puerto Plata at 05:00 in the afternoon bound for Haiti.

Taino Bay is a tourist port, managed by ITM GROUP and supervised by the Dominican Port Authority, which has three docking positions and a passenger center with the capacity to accommodate 14,000 cruise passengers. Its operations create more than 1,500 direct jobs and more than 3,000 indirect jobs for the entire northern area of ​​the Caribbean country.