Cruises carrying 29 thousand passengers arrived in Manta
Ecuadornews:
The Sea Princess cruise arrived Monday at Manta with 2,000 tourists and 900 crew members. The anchoring of this ship meant the close of the 2016-2017 season of cruises that attracted more than 29,000 people. Sea Princess passengers visited Manta and its nearby towns.
One of the most visited sites was Pile, a rural area of Montecristi, where the finest straw hats of the country are woven. Furthermore, cruisers have the option of strolling through various tourist spots in Manta, including beaches, such as Santa Marianita and San Lorenzo.
Tour operators also offer charter flights to the cities of Cuenca, Guayaquil, Quito and even the Galapagos Islands, especially when the ships stay for two days in Manta. According to data from the City Hall, visitors spend $ 80 on average, leaving revenues of more than $ 2’300,000 during the season, which began on October 12 of last year with the arrival of the French ship MS Insignia ( 690 passengers). Since 1997, when the first cruise arrived in Manta, 291 ships have docked in the city, carrying approximately 350,000 people, between passengers and crew.
Manager of the Port Terminal of Manta Samuel Franco Caicedo reported that for the beginning of the 2018-2019 season of cruises the new Terminal for Cruise Passengers would be ready. (I)
Source: http://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/