Cruise ship boom triggers job creation in Puerto Plata

Puerto Plata.- The northern regional director of the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur), Atahualpa Paulino, described the generation of jobs in the province of Puerto Plata as excellent, where he assured that it has increased by more than 200%, due to the boom in cruise ships.

“More than 200% of jobs have been activated. You can’t even walk in the historic center of Puerto Plata because it’s overcrowded with tourists,” said Paulino.

The official said that Puerto Plata has had a boom in cruise tourism, to the point of receiving around a million tourists in the area. He said that he anticipates that some 29 cruise ships will arrive this month.

He assured that all the tourist points of Puerto Plata, as well as the neighboring provinces such as Santiago and even the municipality of Moca, have benefited from this boom in cruise passengers.

He highlighted that the cruise passenger spends an average of 100 dollars and the crew about 80 dollars, according to Accento.

He said that the nationalities of the cruise passengers are very varied, but that they mainly come from the United States since they leave from Florida. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Europe, and even Asian countries also arrive.

Likewise, the director highlighted that they are working on the conditioning of several areas such as the beautification of the boardwalk of the province and its surroundings, the readaptation of Sosúa beach, the road that leads to the northern beaches was finished, and security is very good. “We are working hand in hand with the other authorities in each tourist spot in Puerto Plata.”

Paulino spoke about the subject when participating in “Tourism in Every Corner” in Moca organized by the Ministry of Tourism, which aims to promote domestic tourism for the local market through the promotion of culture, gastronomy, crafts, ecotourism, and the complementary community offer.