Cruise line to maintain use of private island
Friday, 23 Oct, 2009
0
Costa Cruises has been granted a five year extension for the use of Catalina Island off the Dominican Republic as a private beach resort.
The Italian line’s ships have made regular stopovers since 1993, bringing around 60,000 passengers to the Dominican Republic in the winter 2008/09 season.
Costa has invested million of dollars in tourism infrastructure on Catalina Island over 16 years.
The ten km² island is home to a barrier reef and nature reserve and is part of Costa Mediterranea’s itinerary on 2009/10 winter Caribbean cruises.
The ship will be in Catalina, originally discovered by Christopher Columbus, every Tuesday between December 22 and April 13.
With the vessel anchored a few hundred meters from the shore, there is a shuttle service by tender to and from the island. The beach resort is equipped with deckchairs, sun loungers and umbrellas, as well as barbecue and bar facilities.
Costa Mediterranea will be offering seven-night cruises from Guadeloupe to St. Maarten, La Romana, Catalina Island, Tortola, Antigua, and St. Lucia.
The cruise company said the renewal of the concession for Catalina Island was also made possible due its commitment to the promotion of responsible tourism, playing an active part in cleaning and preserving the beach where waste streams are collected separately for recycling.
Shore excursions are organised in accordance with the principles of environmental compliance and sustainable tourism, with the company’s 2010 brochure including around 240 eco-tourism excursions comprising visits to parks, oases and nature reserves.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive