WILLEMSTAD – The first 9 months of the year 2023 have been extremely positive for our tourism sector.
This was announced by the Minister of Economic Development Ruisandro Cijntje, in a press conference held on Monday, October 30, along with the Ministry of Economic Development (MEO) and partners in the tourism sector: the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB), the Curaçao Hospitality & Tourism Association (CHATA), and the Curaçao Ports Authority (CPA). “The tourism sector continues to demonstrate its significant contribution to the development of our economy, and we can happily see that the sector has rebounded strongly and continues to grow progressively.”
During this conference, CTB reported that Curaçao has received a total of 419,020 stay-over tourists in the first 9 months of 2023. This represents an 18% growth compared to the same period in 2022. Tourists stayed a total of 3.6 million nights on our island during the first three quarters of 2023. Considering the current growth, CTB predicts that Curaçao will end 2023 with a total of 555,000 stay-over tourists, which means that, for the first time, the island will surpass half a million stay-over tourists. For 2024, Curaçao will see a 22% increase in air seat capacity compared to 2023, with a total of over 1.2 million air seats.
The development in terms of the number of hotels and alternative accommodations on the island is also positive. Currently, Curaçao has a total of 8,500 rooms, and it is predicted that, according to the schemes presented by various investors, it will have an additional approximately 4,500 rooms by 2026.
The hotel sector has also experienced growth in line with global analytical data. Regarding the first 9 months of 2023, CHATA reports that hotels in Curaçao achieved an average room occupancy rate of 72.0%, compared to 70.2% for the same period in 2022. This represents a 1.8% growth. The Average Daily Rate also saw an increase of 8.1%, rising from $209.07 in 2022 to $226.00 in the first 9 months of 2023. The Revenue per Available Room (RevPar) increased by 10.8%, from $146.81 in 2022 to $162.65 from January to September 2023.
According to cruise tourism performance figures, CPA reports that in the first 3 quarters of 2023, Curaçao received a total of 191 cruise ships. This represents a 2% increase compared to 2022. During this period, 491,439 cruise tourists visited Curaçao, marking a 56% increase compared to the same period in 2022. The increase in the number of cruise tourists is attributed to a positive trend that started in the first quarter of 2023, with a stable occupancy rate of approximately 85% and the arrival of various large cruise ships. Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise, and Carnival Cruise remain the three largest cruise lines bringing passengers to Curaçao. CPA anticipates that this positive trend will continue, with a total projection of 295 cruise ships for Curaçao in 2023 and over 710,000 cruise passengers.
As for the economic impact in the tourism sector, MEO concludes that it has been highly positive in the first 9 months of 2023. This is due to the growth in both the number of stayover tourists (18%), the increase in the number of nights these tourists stayed in Curaçao (8%), as well as the growth in the number of cruise tourists (56%). It is projected that by September 2023, the tourism sector generated a total of 2.245 billion guilders for the economy compared to 1.918 billion guilders until September 2022. This represents a 17% increase. Out of this revenue, 61% comes from direct spending by tourists on accommodations, restaurants, transportation, and tourist activities, among other things. Additionally, the government generated approximately 166 million in taxes, an 18% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
With the projected tourism growth, MEO expects it to make a very positive contribution to Curaçao’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2023 as well. In 2022, it contributed 35% to the Gross Domestic Product. From now on, Curaçao can expect various challenges to come along with this growth in the tourism sector. Besides the labor shortage in the sector, it is necessary to ensure its sustainable development. “We need to analyze the total capacity of our tourist areas, beaches, traffic, etc., to accommodate a larger number of tourists expected to continue growing in the coming years. Diversifying our economy is also essential to reduce our dependence on the tourism sector. The implementation of the Destination Strategic Plan for the tourism sector (STDPP) is imperative, where all partners in the sector work together to improve primarily the quality of the sector,” said the minister.
Bron: Curacao Chronicle