WILLEMSTAD — 39,018 stay over tourists were counted in August, an increase of 7 percent compared to the same month in 2011. The increase was mainly caused by a peak in arrivals late August in connection with the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival (CNSJF). A decrease of 11 percent in the number of arrivals was registered in August from the Netherlands, which the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) considers a main market.

During the peak an increase in arrivals was registered from Aruba, Venezuela and Surinam. This mainly regarded visitors for the CNSJF-event from August 31 to September 1. CTB compares the number of average arrivals on an ordinary day in the low season (1100) with 2,028 tourists arriving on Curaçao on August 28.

Stay-overs

The number of stay-overs in August increased with 12 percent (total 324,008) compared to 289,435 in 2011. The number of stay-overs from the South American region increased with 49 percent; the Caribbean area 7 percent and the North American region 6 percent, while a 2-percent decrease was registered from Europe.

The largest number of arrivals is still registered from the European region. Germany, which is considered an upcoming market, increased with 77 percent. This growth is directly connected to the non-stop flights from Air Berlin from Germany and the marketing activities. 1168 visitors from Germany were registered in this period.

The South American region showed a 33-percent increase in arrivals with 12,704 visitors in total. This increase was mainly due to an increase in the arrival of 8,123 visitors from neighboring country Venezuela, according to the CTB. A 40-percent increase was registered from this country. “With the new flights from COPA Airlines with Panama City, we notice an increase in the arrivals from Latin America, mainly from Brazil with 60 percent (1,009 visitors) and from Columbia 11 percent (538 visitors)”, the CTB reported. The number of arrivals from Ecuador increased with 9 percent, namely 1,045 tourists. According to the CTB, this increase is due to charter flights from the Golden Vacations. CTB registered a 10-percent increase in the number of arrivals from Surinam (1,338 visitors), a result of the CNSJF.

The number of arrivals from the United States showed a 1-percent decrease. The Canadian market showed a 19-percent increase with 353 visitors. The number of visitors from this region increased with 6 percent in August (4,278) compared to 4,028 in the same period last year. An increase of 46 percent (2,388 visitors) was registered from sister island Aruba. As mentioned earlier, this increase was due to the CNSJF-event.

Cruise sector

The cruise sector showed a 47-percent increase in the month August. The number of cruise ships remained the same (5) but the number of cruise passengers increased to 7,755. This is due to the increasing capacity of cruise ships. In 2011, 5,288 passengers visited the island.