The Dominican Republics Ministry of Tourism and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) have joined forces to bolster cruise growth, as announced in an agreement signed earlier this month.
With this partnership, the Dominican Republic became one of only five destinations to hold a presidential-level relationship with the FCCA and the first country to join this exclusive group in several years, the FCCA said.
This agreement marks a pivotal moment in the history of Dominican tourism and our cruise sector, Collado said. Last year, we welcomed more than 2.6 million maritime passengers, and this alliance ensures that growth will accelerate in the years to come.
Highlights of the agreement include, but are not limited to, direct engagement with senior cruise line executives to develop new itineraries, technical evaluation visits by cruise line executives to continuously enhance the passenger experience at Dominican ports and implementation of a national strategy to integrate Dominican talent into the cruise industry, the FCCA said.
The agreement is designed to further grow the destinations strong cruise arrivals, which rose by 177% in the first seven months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2019, and by 29% in 2023 and 7.6% in 2024.
For the 2025-26 winter season, operational agreements have also been formalized with major cruise lines from Norwegian Cruise Line in La Romana to Costa Cruises at Sansouci Port in Santo Domingo, the FCCA and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism said.
MSC Cruises is scheduled to launch year-round homeport service from La Romana beginning in November 2026, the two entities added.
A national training program is also planned to prepare 1,250 strategic members within the cruise industry at ports in Santo Domingo, Pedernales, Saman, La Romana and Puerto Plata to improve service quality, visitor care and operational efficiency.
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