Aquila names Ambra Attus director of impact, growth and development

She'll be working from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, applying her expertise to Aquila's strategic training for the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association's Spanish-speaking community. (Aquila serves as FCCA's official training partner.)

'Beacon of excellence'

Aquila founder Beth Kelly Hatt called Attus a 'true beacon of excellence in the cruise industry' and said she'll bring a 'unique perspective and leadership style to Aquila to help deliver and develop training programs and strategic training plans' for cruise industry stakeholders.

Sustainabilty expertise

Born and raised in Italy and now based in the Dominican Republic, Attus has more than 20 years' experience in tourism, having performed a wide range of functions in hospitality, tour operations, excursions and cruise and destination management. A member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council since 2018, she brings a solid background in training and coaching on sustainability, and extensive practice and expertise designing sustainable and purpose-driven Caribbean shore excursions.

For the past five years, Attus served as executive director of the Puerto Plata Tourism Cluster and executive director of the Tourism Association of the North Coast. Her duties included representing the destination in global markets and liaising with members, partner institutions and government agencies to plan and implement key partnerships. She also worked as a training facilitator with a focus on sustainable development at the Dominican Republic National Institute of Technical Training.

Carnival Corp.'s Fathom

Earlier, Attus was the Caribbean development lead for Fathom, part of Carnival Corp. & plc, where she designed purposeful and sustainable shore experiences that immersed cruisers into the local culture and created meaningful connections with Dominicans.

These experiences were designed to inspire curiosity, connection, exploration and growth, areas the Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence focuses on when training students, operators and destinations around the world.

Attus is also co-founder of El Rincón del Café, a coffee shop in downtown Puerto Plata; did consulting for community-based tourism projects and was in charge of social responsibility for a hotel group. In December she was recognized for inspirational leadership at the Juventud Awards Puerto Plata.