The President of the Republic, Luis Abinaderassured today that the Government has been eliminating the main obstacles that affected the development of the tourism in Puerto Platathrough a comprehensive strategy that combines public investment, attraction of international hotel brands, institutional strengthening and infrastructure improvement.
During his speech at the inauguration of the Holiday Inn-Cofresí hotel, the president maintained that the absence of international brands —especially North Americans— influenced the setback of destiny. He stated that the Government’s objective is relaunch Puerto Plata with a modern and competitive hotel offer.
“When we have international brands, Puerto Plata returns to one global tourism community that he should never have lost,” said the president.
President Abinader added that the government has intervened in structural problems that affected the image of the destination, such as the rehabilitation of beaches, the urban planningthe elimination of pollution sources, the modernization of landfills and an investment of more than 600 million pesos, in the comprehensive recovery of Playa Sosúa.
Abinader reiterated that his government promotes a model of tourism development planned and sustainable, aimed at consolidating Puerto Plata as a relaunched, competitive destination with a diversified offer, in coordination with the private sector and communities.
Record numbers of visiting tourists in the 2025
The minister of TourismDavid Collado, reported that in the 2025 Puerto Plata received 2.2 million tourists via cruise ships, establishing a historical record for the province. He indicated that more than 95% of the cruise passengers disembark and consume at the destination, boosting the local economy.
“That’s what it’s about, that tourism does not remain within the facilities, but impacts people,” Collado stated.
Likewise, he pointed out that during the 2025 they stayed in Puerto Plata around 450,000 touristsrecovering the levels of 2019. He highlighted that a significant part of the tourist flow is arriving through the Cibao International Airport, a situation that will be strengthened with the construction of the Ámbar Highway, which will reduce the journey between Santiago and Puerto Plata about 30 minutes.
Punta Brigantín Project
Collado explained that the recovery of the destination responded to strategic planning initiated in the first 100 days of management, which included the acquisition of strategic land for the Punta Brigantín projectwith the support of the Central Bank and the Banreservas Trust, allowing the development of a tourism project with more than 1,000 rooms and an investment of more than 100 million dollars
