- Santo Tomás de Castilla
Santo Tomás de Castilla, also known as Matías de Gálvez is a
port city inIzabal Department ,Guatemala . It is located at around coord|15|41|60|N|88|37|0|W|display=inline,title. It lies atAmatique Bay off theGulf of Honduras and is administratively a part ofPuerto Barrios . Santo Tomás was settled originally byBelgians in the 19th century. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9065650/Santo-Tomas-de-Castilla]eaport
The
seaport of the city was built in 1976, after an earthquake had severely damaged the port ofPuerto Barrios . Today it is among the busiest inCentral America and currently expanding. [http://www.puertobarriosonline.com/ipm_portuaria/publico/paginas/inicio.jsp?p_cod_pagina=7] The port is located next to afree trade zone , the Zona de Libre Industria y Comercio Santo Tomás de Castilla, calledZolic . The port currently employs 2100 workers. In 2004, 4.56 million tons of trading goods went through the port from 1372 ships . [http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2005/noviembre/10/lectura_nego.html]Cruise industry
In 2004, Santo Tomás de Castilla started receiving cruise ships. The cruise ship terminal is a tremendous boost for the Guatemalan
tourism industry . Two cruise ships a month, carrying 1500 passengers each make a stop here. [http://www.prensalibre.com.gt/pl/2005/enero/21/105950.html] . Cruise ship passengers visit Guatemala mostly for its Maya culture, spread throughout the country. Thus,Puerto Barrios Airport is currently being refurbished to carry ship passengers for day trips toTikal or other places in Guatemala in the near future. Nearby attractions includeRio Dulce ,Lake Izabal , the towns ofPuerto Barrios , Livingston andSan Felipe Castle , and theMaya n ruins ofQuirigua .Links
* [http://www.santotomasport.com.gt/ official website of the port]
* [http://www.cpn.gob.gt/ Seaport Commission of Guatemala]
* [http://www.zolicguate.com/ official website of the Zolic free trade zone]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.