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Tuesday 13 OcTOber 2020

September 2020, welcomed 65% of first time visitors to Aruba

ORANJESTAD — The Aruba tourism Authority to- re-opening soon. since this had led to a strong economic impact
gether with different tourism organizations here- for our island.
by informs the community of the current situa- Visitors and accommodations You might have noticed some cruise ships in
tion regarding the tourism industry according to 61.4% of the visitors stayed at a hotel, 35% at our terminal, these are called the ‘warm lay-
information gathered for the month of Septem- a timeshare resort and 19.7% at an alternative up’, which refers to ships on standby. They are
ber 2020. accommodation. A total of 65% (9.608 total) waiting on instructions as soon as operations re-
visited our destination for the first time and 33% sume. This activity produces and income for the
Air traffic (4.777 total) were ‘repeat visitors’. A total of 2% island. There are no tourists on the cruise ships.
During the month of September 2020, Aruba (312 visitors) did not mention this and therefor They are operating with a skeleton-crew only
had a great increase in active Covid-19 cas- were not included in the resume. Ages of the and they have to follow all local and interna-
es. It was announced that Aruba was listed as visitors varied between 30 and 39 years (3.744) tional protocols strictly.
code orange to the Netherlands which caused and between the ages of 50 to 59 (2.850).
an adjustments in the scheduled flights. Ac- Tourism credits / Central Bank of Aruba
cording to AAA (Aruba Airport Authority) the Cruise tourism According to the Central bank of Aruba the
most active airlines for that month were Ameri- The Cruise Tourism had been paralyzed since so called ‘Tourism Credits’ previously known as
can Airlines – Jetblue – Delta Airline – United Air- the start of this pandemic and there is still no ‘Tourism Receipts’ contributed to AWG 1.017.9
lines – KLM, Air Century y Spirit. There were also official date for a re-start of the operations in million in our economy for the first quarter of
humanitarian flights directed to Venezuela. the Caribbean Region. The industry is pending 2020. This is 7% less compared to the same sea-
for CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Pre- son in 2019.
‘STAY-OVER’ tourism vention) to approve the recommendations and This off course due to the Covid- 19 pandemic
During the month of September 2020 our is- protocols related to Covid-19 for cruise ships. in which Aruba closed it border back in March
land welcomed a total of 14.697 ‘stay-over’ However, at the Mediterranean region the 2020. Just as many other destinations Aruba
visitors. In which, a total of 13.576 were from cruise operations have restarted upon approv- is facing difficult times and challenges. It is of
North America, 784 from different parts of Eu- al of the protocols by the European Union and great importance to continue adhering to all
rope and 337 visitors from other countries and the operation here of is going very well. Aruba protocol as stated by all the departments con-
regions. Currently, all Latin American borders is waiting on the approval of CDC to reinitiate cerned. Together our island we shall overcome
are still close for Aruba, but they are aiming on the cruise operation for the Caribbean region, this and our tourism will flourish again. q

My Aruba Story

What do you do?
It’s easy. Mail us your vacation picture(s) together with your Aruba story
(Email: news@arubatoday.com) and we will publish this in our newspa-
per. This for sure is a great vacation memory to take home with you.
Today we share with you a beautiful experience that Ian Richards had
on our One Happy Island. Romance was in the air!

“My friends from the UK went to Aruba on vacation.
Stayed at the Rui.
They met a lady in the beach selling activities.
Lady told them that there were no decent men around.
They showed her my face book profile.
She messaged me. I friend request her.
We video called every day for six weeks.
I thought life's too short, so go for it.
I then got a flight from the UK.
The airline staff were asking why I was alone.
I explained was going on a date.
10,000 miles round trip.
When I arrived at the airport in Oranjestad, I met my girl, and the
aircrew and passengers applauded as we kissed.
In all I went six times.
We had a great time, and I love the island especially Rum Reef at
Baby Beach.
I also saw the island through local eyes, not as a tourist.
It's a beautiful place, in a wonderful part of the world.
ORANJESTAD — Aruba Today welcomes readers to participate in our She now lives on a different island, and hopefully I'll go see her
newspaper. Now that we are open to visitors again after the three months again.
of lockdown we are all ears to know about you. How do you feel to be Going to take my kids there in the summer holidays.”
back or maybe this is your first time in Aruba? Let us know! Send us a
picture and tell us about your experience because we love to share this Ian Richards
with our readers.