Dominica sees jump in arrivals
In a testament to its current appeal Dominica
has announced that the destination’s tourism arrivals
for 2006 have increased by nearly 6% over the previous year.In total, Dominica
welcomed 83,916 visitors to the island in 2006, an increase of 5.88% over the
79,257 visitors who arrived in 2005.
Much of this increase came from a bump in arrivals from the
US, accounting
for 21,311 visitors or about 25% of overall visitors in 2006, which is an
increase of 15.2% over 18,492 visitors in 2005.
Tourism arrivals were also up from Canada
and Europe as compared to the previous year,
by 29% and 9.5%, respectively. In fact,
tourism arrivals overall showed average growth in the double digits. Tourism
arrivals continue to be their highest
levels in October in conjunction with the World Creole Music Festival due to
the overwhelming popularity and successful promotion of this event.
“We’re very pleased that more and
more people continue to discover Dominica
and all the attractions and scenic wonders our island has to offer,” said
Yvor
Nassief, Minister of Tourism for Dominica. “In 2006, we stepped
up
our e-marketing campaign and introduced a new logo and tagline to better
represent
our tourism product and target our core visitor, who research has shown seeks
culture, eco-adventure opportunities and new experiences from their vacation
destination. The fact that Dominica’s
tourism arrivals were up by a greater percentage than world tourism arrivals,
which were up 4.5% in 2006 according to the UN World Tourism Organization,
clearly
demonstrates that our efforts are succeeding.”
Known as “The Nature Island” and located
between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Eastern
Caribbean, the independent nation of Dominica
(pronounced ‘Dom-in-eek-a’) is the largest and most mountainous of
the Windward Islands, encompassing an
area of
nearly 290 square miles. Of volcanic origins with mountains reaching
heights of nearly 5,000 feet, rainforests that are considered among the last
true oceanic rainforests in the world, more than 365 rivers, waterfalls,
boiling lakes and pristine coral reefs, Dominica’s natural diversity is truly
unique. Dominica is also
home to the last remaining settlement of the Indigenous Peoples of the
Caribbean - The Carib Indians. A place
where man and
nature live in harmony, adventurers and nature lovers alike will revel in
the Island’s eco-tourism options which
include scuba diving,
snorkeling, mountain biking, kayaking, horseback riding, nature tours,
hiking/trekking, whale, dolphin and bird watching, sailing and fishing.
Dominica continues to be
recognized for its attributes and sustainable tourism efforts, including
being
the first country in the world to receive Benchmarking designation from the
prestigious eco-tourism organization Green Globe 21 and ranking as the only
Caribbean destination in the top five happiest countries on earth in the
Happy
Planet Index (compiled by Britain’s
New Economics Foundation).
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