Dufry, leading global travel retailer, has successfully extended for another 10 years its duty-free concession at La Romana Int. Airport & Seaport (AILR & CPLR) in the Dominican Republic, where it has been operating for more than 14 years.
La Romana welcomes more than 700,000 passengers on both airport and seaport and caters for upscale private jets and golf players.
The new contract extends from January 2022 through December 2032, includes improvements of the air terminal as well as the built-out of its much-awaited theme pool and complementary water amenities. With respect to the airport, the contract extension will allow Dufry to continue developing the 305 m2 retail space to best service the around 400,000 travelers coming mainly from the US, Canada and the Ukraine by offering a vast assortment of exceptional products and attractive price offers.
Within the expansion of the seaport, Airport Management Services Ltd., a subsidiary of Central Romana Corporation Ltd., plans to invest around USD 4 million to further extend the cruise port; creating new attractions for cruise guest visiting La Romana and transforming it into an attractive leisure and cruise destination. Dufry will closely cooperate with the port authority to deliver a high-level design and shopping experience with 500 m2 of retail space to the around 300,000 cruise visitors and elevate La Romana to a major attraction for all Caribbean cruise lines.
Besides La Romana International airport and seaport, Dufry’s presence in the Dominican Republic also includes duty-free operations in other international air and sea ports such as; AILA (Santo Domingo), Santiago, Puerto Plata Port & Airport as well as at Samana, Amber Cove, and Taino Bay cruise port in Puerto Plata.
Announcing the contract extension, Juan-Antonio Nieto, Chief Operating Officer for Mexico and Caribbean, said: “We are very proud to be able to continue our long-standing and successful collaboration with La Romana International Airport & Seaport and we thank our partners for the renewed trust. Our continued alliance will not only bring both sides positive benefits but more importantly foster a strong partnership to satisfy international passengers in the region as we do world-wide.”
Luis Emilio Rodriguez Amiama, General Manager of La Romana International Airport & Seaport added: “For years, Dufry has been a key partner in the development of our La Romana airport and seaport in the Dominican Republic. Being owners and operators of a private airport, we have experienced many challenges and thanks to our travel retail partner’s expertise and continued professionalism, we have achieved solutions and improvements for the benefit of our clients, our employees and our business. Hence, we are proud to announce the renewal of our long-standing cooperation with Dufry for an additional 10 years. It is a privilege to maintain this partnership with a world-class travel retailer like Dufry.
Our thanks go to the team lead by Juan Antonio Nieto and the continued support in our expansion projects at the airport and the seaport. We look forward to new challenges and growth, working hand in hand with our great partners.”
