Above: Luis Liriano, Jakaira Cid ,Fausto Fernandez, Anny Mariel Gomez and Maximo Iglesias

By the Caribbean Journal staff

PUERTO PLATA — Earlier this year, the Dominican Republic announced its plan to “relaunch” the destination of Puerto Plata.

For now, the plan seems to be heading in the “right direction,” according to Fausto Fernandez, Deputy Minister in the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Tourism.

Fernandez was speaking Wednesday night at the opening of the Discover Puerto Plata Marketplace, a major gathering of tourism industry stakeholders being held this year at the Hotel Be Live Grand Marien.

“[It] is a very good sign that we walk in the right direction for the growth of tourist arrivals to the region,” Fernandez said.

Uniting private sector institutions with the public sector was the major issue on the agenda of the first day of the conference.

“This fair represents us all and confirms that Puerto Plata is alive and well, we are re-emerging and that there is no obstacle we cannot overcome,” said Be Live Grand Marien General Manager Luis Liriano, who is also the President of the Hotel Association of the Northern Region in the Dominican Republic.

Puerto Plata has been in a stage of “transformation,” said Maximo Iglesias, president of the Puerto Plata Tourism Cluster, from a total renovation of its international airport to the construction of a Carnival cruise port and tourism programmes based on emphasizing cultural resources.

Discover Puerto Plata is being held for the second time.