Carnival Cruise Line on July 10 returned to Dominica for the
first time in eight years with the arrival of the Carnival Fascination.
The line had pulled out of Dominica in 2010 after 21 years,
citing high fuel prices.
"Carnival being here after an eight-year-absence is
significant to the tourism sector," said Careen Prevost, permanent
secretary for the Ministry of Tourism. She noted that Dominica had been
negotiating with Carnival over the past few years to get the cruise line back
to the island.
Following Hurricane Maria last September, Dominica hosted a
Carnival delegation in January for a site inspection. Cruise officials returned
in early July to monitor the island's progress in rebuilding sites and
attractions to receive visitors.
The government invested more than $6 million in
post-hurricane site reconstruction to get tourist sites ready.
Carnival has scheduled 10 calls in Dominica this summer.
"We're hoping that if everything goes well for these
calls, we will see the return of Carnival full-time," Prevost said.
Correction: The Carnival Fascination returned to Dominica on July 10; a previous version of this article had a wrong date.