WILLEMSTAD — The Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) is negotiating with cruise company Pullmantur to moor two days at Curaçao during the coming edition of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival (CNSJF). In May next year Curaçao will be the embarkation harbor for cruise ship Monarch. With that the tourist bureau hopes to attract 2744 extra tourists for the popular jazz festival and to boost the economy.

Tarzeno ‘Zeno’ Circkens, chairman of the Curaçao Tourism and Development Foundation (CTDF), the institute that steers the CTB, is pleased that Fundashon Bon Intenshon signed for two extra editions of the festival. A study showed that CNSJF had directly yielded the local economy more than 40 million dollars. As the festival also attracts tourists Circkens is happy with the next events in 2013 and 2014. According to Circkens, Curaçao should embrace the CNSJF and strive to make the festival the biggest event of the Caribbean area. The spin-off of the festival is huge and had put Curaçao on the map of the world. To this moment the CTB supports the event with marketing abroad. According to Circkens, the tourist bureau and the organization of the festival should get around the table to evaluate further collaboration possibilities.

This year Fundashon Bon Intenshon invested 5.6 million dollars, which is 14 percent more than in 2011. In total 5312 tourists had visited the third edition of the CNSJF, which is more than the previous year. Performing artists in 2012 were guitar legend Carlos Santana, Alicia Keys, Marcus Miller, Hershel Rosario, Alain Toussaint and Maná.