The Discover Dominica Authority has presented Mas Domnik 2015 to the Dominican public with the theme “Se Lavi Nou”.
An official launching ceremony took place on Wednesday evening, 17th December, at the Fort Young Hotel.
Giving his very first address after being sworn in as Hon. Minister for Tourism and Urban Renewal was Senator Robert Tonge.
“The Government of Dominica recognizes the great value of carnival and the role it plays in generating much-needed foreign exchange, creating jobs for larger numbers of people and bringing about greater social cohesion and unity,” the new Minister noted.
According to his Ministry’s statistics, Hon. Tonge said that there was a 33.8% increase in stay over tourist arrivals for Dominica’s carnival in 2014.
“There were 4,181 persons who stayed for the week leading up to carnival, which represented 20% of our first quarter visitor arrivals,” Hon. Tonge informed.
The new Minister also thanked his predecessor, Hon. Ian Douglas, for the work and the foundation which he built in the tourism sector.
The Hon. Minister for Culture, Sports, Youth and Constituency Empowerment, Justina Charles says that Dominicans should embrace their culture and make Mas Dominik 2015 a successful.
“The theme for the Real Mas 2015 is “Se Lavi Nou”. It behoves us then to embrace our cultural tradition, take control of our lives, live responsibly, [and] build on the positive around us,” the Hon. Minister said.
“’Se Lavi Nou’ instructs us to work as a collective; it’s not ‘Se Lavi Mweh’, it’s ‘Se Lavi Nou’; not for our own selfish ambitions.”
Mas Dominik 2015 has support from the Government of Dominica as well as LIME Dominica, who is the platinum sponsor.
The street parades will be held on the February 16th and 17th, 2015 while the Miss Dominica Pageant will be held on February 6th, 2015.