A plus B equals C, according to Curacao tourism board CEO Paul Pennicook. “If you take the best of Aruba and Bonaire and put them together, you get Curacao,” he says of the lesser known of the so-called ABC islands.
Centred between its two neighbouring islands in the Dutch Caribbean, lying just 65 km off the coast of Venezuela, Curacao has “cuisine, history, heritage, great diving and beaches – it’s a wonderful mix,” says Pennicook.
As such, he believes he has all the ingredients to raise the profile of the island, particularly amongst North Americans, who lag behind Europe as the island’s major tourism market.
“We are a hidden gem, and we’d really like to see Americans and Canadians discover it,” he says, noting that although that market grew two percent in 2019 it “could still be better.”
Individually, Canada, with a little more than 22,000 visitors in 2019, ranks fourth on the list, behind the Netherlands, US and Colombia.
The primary problem, Pennicook says, is the contraction of direct flights from North America, including Canada (Sunwing no longer serves the island), because of the grounding of Max 8 aircraft.
Nevertheless, he expects more flights to begin arriving again this year to compliment a robust 900,000 annual cruises passengers – a development that would go a long way to rebalancing the island’s arrivals portfolio between Europe and the Americas and help Pennicook achieve his goal of seeing North America grow to become Curacao’s top market.
Also helpful will be a slate of new hotel openings on the island, with several properties in the pipeline to join a new Dreams, which opened on Dec. 15. Foremost among them will be an all-inclusive Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, due in 2024.
Pennicook is quick to caution that while more all-inclusives will certainly come along, Curacao is not going down the road of becoming an entirely all-inclusive island, like others in the Caribbean. “We are cognizant that, if left uncontrolled, we could become a totally all-inclusive destination, and we don’t want that,” he says.
To that end, policies to guide the island’s tourism development are currently being developed.
Another development that shows promise is island-hopping tours in the ABCs – something offered out of Europe, but not North America, though Pennicook tells Travel Industry Today that United Airlines is looking at partnering with inter-island carriers to introduce the concept.
However they get there and wherever they stay, Pennicook says North Americans will love Curacao, not the least because – with a UNESCO recognized downtown, for example – there is more to the island than just beaches.
“We’re not just another Caribbean destination,” he says. “It’s a special destination with a unique feel… and we want to share this message with the world that Curacao is on the map!”
