Tourism Minister Denise Charles has revealed the government’s plan to expand the runway at Douglas Charles Airport. She said the exercise will attract new airlines to add Dominica to their itinerary. She said the runway expansion becomes necessary because wind is making it harder for larger airplanes to land at the airport due to its limited runway size.
According to the CEO of the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), Colin Piper, the country would enjoy better tourism revenue if vacationers are able to come into the country via the Douglas Charles Airport. He said airplanes face a challenge to land at the airport’s runway due to opposing wind conditions.
For years, landing in Dominica has been a challenge for a lot of aircraft because the wind poses challenges for landing on our current runway, The improvements to the runway and the new airport are both efforts to enable people to land here, enjoy their time here, and not have to be diverted to one of our neighboring islands.
Colin Piper, CEO of the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA)
Tourism Minister Charles said the Skerrit-led administration is consulting with new airline partners to operate in Dominica.
What we are currently doing right now is embarking on a project to expand our runway, so we will be able to attract many other airline partners to the destination like Delta and JetBlue [airlines]… We are having advanced conversations with many other airlines. So hopefully in the near future, we will be having more nonstop service to the destination.
Hon. Denise Charles. Minister of Tourism
Charles said she has reviewed the cruise industry for the 2022-2023 season and found significant growth. She stated that in the 2023-2024 seasons, major cruise-lines such as Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, TUI Cruises, and Disney Cruises will come more to Dominica. She added that this will boost economic activities for hotel operators, taxi workers, tour agencies, and local traders as well as community engagements.
I am delighted to announce that Dominica witnessed significant growth in the cruise industry during the 2022-2023 seasons with a 32% increase in calls to 189 and a remarkable rise of 44,749 passengers compared to the Pre-COVID 2019-2020 season. As we look ahead the 2023-2024 season promises continued growth with an estimated 18.5 percent increase in cruise calls to 224 and a 15.3 percent increase in passengers to 270,000.
Hon. Denise Charles. Minister of Tourism
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