Aruba boasts increase in visitor arrivals

DESPITE THE Natalie Holloway incident on May 30, and the bad publicity the island of Aruba has received, there has been no impact on visitor arrivals.

In fact, Aruba is boasting a six per cent increase over the average Caribbean statistics, with its hotels showing 80 per cent occupancy levels all around.

"We have a very loyal base of visitors, 40 per cent of our visitors are repeat business, 30 per cent of our hotels are timeshare, so the tourist that comes, comes every year," Myrna Jansen Feliciano, managing director of the Aruba Tourism Authority, told journalists at a press briefing at the Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-28) in the United States Virgin Islands on Saturday.

Myrna

She said international travellers are very savvy, and can distinguish between what reality is and what the media says, "There are certain media that have blown this incident out of proportion, but
travellers can discern that."

According to Ms. Jansen, Aruba's reputation has preceded it, "We are known as a safe destination; in the past 10 years we have received five million stourists and only one major incident with a tourist."

Holloway, a United States student went missing on the island 'Where happiness lives' on the final day of her vacation. She is still reported missing five months later.

Mrs. Feliciano said she and the people of Aruba desperately want this case to be resolved as soon as possible, "We have received a lot of publicity that we will never be able to pay for from this very unfortunate case."

MUSIC FESTIVAL

She told reporters that at their recent music festival, the island received guests from as far as Australia and Russia, places they have never targeted. "They just booked on the Internet."

In the meantime, it's business as usual on the island, which has seen an increase of nine per cent of visitor arrivals out of the United States and increased business from the Canadian market. Seventy-three per cent of their visitors are from the United States.

In 2005, the island announced new and expanded air service, multimillion-dollar hotel renovations, brand new spas and the largest water park in the Caribbean and Latin America.

­ J.S.

Managing director of the Aruba Tourism Authority, Myrna Jansen Feliciano, answers questions from reporters during the Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-28) in the United States Vigin Islands, on Saturday.