Uncertainty about tourism figures
ARUBA – It is not clear whether the tourism is affected by the Natalee Holloway case. Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) has not announced yet how many tourists had visited Aruba between July and September. The October figures show a drop. “Very bad, Aruba’s economy depends on the tourism. We must know what the situation is”, is the opinion of the AVP.
It is incomprehensible that the tourism-minister Edison Briesen does not realize that something is wrong. The AVP is concerned about the tourism. It is irresponsible not to know whether there is a Holloway-effect. AVP wants a meeting with the taskforce, the parliament, and the minister in early 2006 to talk about a marketing plan. Recently, the Central Bank of Aruba and the Aruba Airport Authority (AAA) reported alarming figures about the tourism. According to the Bank, the cruise passengers have dropped with almost 40 percent in October of this year. The hotel occupancy was almost 78 percent in October. The Bank couldn’t give the results in the months July up till September, because they depend on the data from ATA that were not available. Also compared to last year, the airport of Aruba registered fewer passengers that entered Aruba. According to AAA-director Peter Steinmetz, the 2004 amount of passengers (1.7 millions) is not feasible in 2005. His opinion is that this has directly to do with the disappeared American teenager, Natalee Holloway.
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