SANTO DOMINGO.- The Dominican Port Authority has set a goal of receiving between five and six million cruise ship passengers in the Dominican Republic by 2028.
The executive director of the Port Authority (Apordom), Jean Luis Rodríguez, stated this Monday that with the expansion of port infrastructure for the reception of cruise ships, authorities estimate that the arrival of cruise passengers to the Dominican Republic will exceed 3 million by 2024.
He said this is an achievable goal, after the country attracted 2.3 million visitors by sea in 2023.
During the launch of an Apordom mobile application, Rodríguez indicated that with the opening of Samaná Bayport, Arroyo Barril and the Barahona cruise port – which are expected to be ready by 2026 – the logistical capacity for receiving more tourists would be increased.
They work on promoting Cabo Rojo
Regarding the arrival of shipping companies to the new Cabo Rojo Port, built in Pedernales, Rodríguez indicated that Apordom continues working on promoting this terminal to close agreements with cruise companies that include this destination in their routes.
The official estimates that the frequency of tourist vessels docking at the port will normalize in October of this year, and that they will begin arriving monthly.
Indeed, he indicated that Dominican airport authorities recently met with companies such as Disney Cruise Land and Royal Caribbean in Jamaica, where they discussed this emerging destination.
"We recently signed an agreement with the Jamaican port authority, and we held several meetings there with the different cruise lines. We anticipate that with the opening of these new ports, the shipping companies and can begin sending ships to the Dominican Republic," he said.
"We don't have the itineraries and schedules yet, but we do know that some shipping companies have confirmed they will be coming to Cabo Rojo in October," he emphasized.
He explained that it is normal in the cruise industry for a new port to take time to reach a significant ship frequency.
“If we recall Taino Bay in its first year of operations (2021), it received around 300,000 cruise passengers, and then 800,000 the following year. We are forecasting that it will exceed one million cruise passengers this year, so it's quite normal. Cruise schedules are organized up to three years in advance,” he explained.
Apordom projects that Cabo Rojo will receive up to 500,000 cruise passengers by 2028, a projection that would halve the one million cruise passengers estimated for that year on the day of the port's inauguration.
With information from Diario Libre.
