Page 32 - bon-dia-aruba-20200718

a32 local
Saturday 18 July 2020

Aruba Tourism Authority (A.T.A.):

Ken Grille is honored as ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ for the continuous

support to Aruba

ORANJESTAD – Aruba Tour-
ism Authority (A.T.A.) rep-
resentative Rayon Kool-
man recently had the great
pleasure in honoring one of
Aruba’s loyal visitors, Ken
Grille. Grille has continu-
ously shown his uncondi-
tional support for our ‘one
happy island’ throughout
many years, especially
with the management of a
closed group on Facebook
named ‘All Things Aruba’.

During the COVID-19 pan-
demic, Grille decided to
stay on the island instead
of returning to his home
in New York, and made
great use of his ‘All Things
Aruba’ page to keep past
and potential visitors well-
informed of the develop-
ments taking place on the
island. He also made use of
his ‘All Things Aruba’ group
to share his breathtaking
pictures of Aruba with the
group’s nearly 42,000 mem-
bers worldwide. During this
time, Grille also worked
very closely with Rayon as
well.

By providing members with
timely and accurate infor-
mation in regards to the de-
velopments on the island,
while also conveying the
unique experiences and
beauty Aruba has to offer,
Grille helps to promote our In recognition of his con- A.T.A. presented him with ‘Masha Danki’ for continu- favorite vacation destina-
island as a vacation desti- tinuous support and pro- a ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ ously choosing, supporting, tion. q
nation. motion of Aruba, the certificate as a way to say and promoting Aruba as a

All protected areas under umbrella Aruba National Park

Continued from Page 31 aware that there are passionate and powerful
The other side economic interests at work in favor of continu-
A foundation that fights for protection of na- The newly founded Aruba Off-Road Founda- ing the rental of ATVs and UTVs to tourists. But
ture, ABC, says: “It’s time for a moratorium on tion represents the interest of about 20 Off-road please know this:
UTV’s and ATV’s and it is time to regulate off- Rental Companies and tour operators. Their
road tourism. Adventure tourism shouldn’t de- wish is to be involved in the decision-making Those economic self-interests of ATV/UTV rental
stroy Aruba’s flora and fauna. Such belongs to about the off road-vehicles seeing that this is and tour companies pale in comparison to the
the next generation.” their source of income. They state to under- damage these vehicles are causing over the
The Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association (Ahata) stand the need for nature protection, but they long run to the most important economic inter-
continues to advocate for regulation of UTV and have preoccupations about the new regula- est of our island: the protection and preservation
ATV vehicles on the island, for the sake of safety tions within the national park as well as the reg- of our “Product Aruba.” Because once tourists
of the visitors and protection of Aruba’s biodi- ulation within the 16 protected nature areas. stop coming to Aruba because our nature and
versity. During a May meeting with the Minister beaches have been destroyed beyond repair
of Justice, the Minister of Spatial Development Malmok protest by tourists on rented vehicles Aruba’s future
and Environment, and the Minister of Transport, Concerns came also from civilian’s initiatives will look dire indeed.” She asks GOA to make it
the CEO of Ahata, Tisa LaSorte, had the oppor- like the Foundation Preserve Malmok. The foun- part of our legacy to make change happen to
tunity to reiterate the request for regulation sent dation’s president recently made public an positively impact Aruba’s nature and the public
to the government in January of 2019. It was appeal to the government regarding the nui- health and safety of our citizens and visitors for
agreed by all that regulation is essential. sance and damage of ATV/UTV’s. “I am well generations to come.q