In her address at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Radisson Aruba Resort Casino & Spa, Myrna Hansen Feliciano welcomed Her Excellency Acting Governor of Aruba, Mrs. Ella Tromp-Yarzagaray, the Minister of Tourism and Transportation, Edison Briesen, Members of Parliament, distinguished pioneers, entrepreneurs, and guests to the Grand Caribbean Ballroom.
The following were her remarks on the occasion of the celebration:
Welcome to this special event commemorating a milestone in the history of tourism of Aruba. Allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate the Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa General Manager Gary Jutz, his management team, the Aruba Tourism Authority associates, long time employees of the resort and the former Aruba Caribbean Hotel, on the occasion of this 50th anniversary.
All the pioneers and entrepreneurs, members of government, Aruba Tourism Authority and Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, various tourism industry representatives – and the people of Aruba – all contributed in the early development of tourism here and through the 50 years, during the fabulous journey undertaken by the local hospitality industry.
Project leader Amayra Boekhoudt, of the Aruba Tourism Authority together with the Radisson’s team, Lily Polsbroek, Mylene Marquez and their crew, Checkpoint Color’s Farita Luidens, artist and decorator Maria Theresa Martinez, and the ATA team with Mario and Sjeidy supported by Amylene Paesch and Thais Nava, and the entire ATA Team made this evening possible. Thank you for your great effort and thank you all for being part of this great celebration.
More than 50 years of hospitality is definitely something to celebrate and commemorate. Sometimes, in order to move forward, one has to look back and savor the achievements and the qualities of the people that made those achievements possible. One may then finalize or adjust one’s vision for the future. When I was reading through some research material on the history of tourism, what impressed me most was the extreme effort made in the first phase in the development of tourism. The vision, the dream of some individuals, triggered an impulse in others: impulses of courage, initiative, determination, dedication, creativity, assurance and perseverance, and leadership to achieve a bold beginning in tourism development in spite of all obstacles. Perhaps more was achieved than was even envisioned.
In reviewing the history of tourism, it also struck me as peculiar, that most of the challenges that we have today, we also experienced 50 years ago. Of course, 50 years ago, the size of those challenges was limited because tourism at that time was in its infancy. (To give you an idea, 50 years ago, they were concerned with the poor condition and/or lack of roads; they were preoccupied with increased crime, with the high price of tourism service, the lack of local flavor in entertainment and food, and some major concerns were expressed in view of competition.)
Even in marketing, there are quite some tools that we still use today, that were used 50 years ago. I chuckled when I read that from the late 50s on, Breakfast Seminars, Trade shows, Media Events and parties for Travel Agents were hosted lavishly as well as visiting airline executives. Those were all important then and are still important now. Now, 50 years later, our tourism industry has grown in leaps and bounds.
From 300 hotel rooms to almost 8000 hotel and timeshare rooms. From a few restaurants to over 300 restaurants. From some airline flights per week to over thirty, flights PER DAY!
We now market in over 10 countries and have more than 13 representation offices abroad, dealing with 10 different currencies. From a few thousand visitors 50 years ago, we now receive over 800,000 visitors by air and over 500,000 by cruise ship per year. Our population has more than doubled to almost 120,000.
Our competition which was limited to a few Caribbean islands, expanded to 32 Caribbean destinations and globalization made every other country in the world, offering tourism as an economic tool, a competitor.
The $100,000 dollar budget for marketing in the 50s, became almost $20 miyon dollars at present……….
Only one thing has not changed, and that is the geographic size of the island!
History proved that Aruba achieved many successes and the island is considered a leader in the Caribbean. Aruba is the measuring stick, the benchmark in hospitality and friendship, good service, beautiful beaches, superb culinary experiences, excellent tourism and hotel infrastructure, a bonanza of activities and at the same time a relaxing and safe atmosphere. With the public and private sector working together for success, tourism has indeed become the most important economic pillar of the island.
While the global tourism scenario has changed quite a bit, some factors have definitely changed the industry forever.
The internet is here to stay and determines the way business is done. Especially in tourism. Although we still put emphasis on the personal touch, we have revolutionized our marketing approach to adapt to current trends. Social networking and direct bookings permeated our world and ATA is taking advantage of it, marketing the name Aruba and all its attributes. Not at any time in history, has an EXCELLENT VACATION EXPERIENCE been as important as it is today. Good experiences and bad experiences find their way to the net and personal accounts are perceived as more credible than anything we may say about ourselves. Therefore, warm hospitality, excellent service and an overall memorable vacation experience NOW has more value then ever and deserves our total attention.
Another very important factor is the demand that visitors place on responsible and sustainable tourism, supporting destinations where nature and the environment and social structures benefit, rather than suffer from the growing demand. More than ever before, the “modern” traveler wants to connect, and experience music, food, art and the lifestyle of locals. It’s all about the experience and the contributions to making our world a more sustainable place to live. Our visitors want to have the choice to either pick from a variety of activities, or just relax, rejuvenate and take their stressful lifestyle down a notch.
I mentioned just a couple of the many changes taking place, but one thing is guaranteed, the fact that tourism will continue to evolve. Our continued success depends on our ability to navigate these uncharted waters of the future. This will require the characteristics our pioneers and past entrepreneurs possessed: vision, leadership, great courage, innovation, determination, creativity, initiative and persistence. One thing we cannot easily change, and that’s the SIZE of our ROCK - our baranca stima – our beloved native island.
That is why it is so appropriate at this moment to continue developing a National Integrated Strategic Plan with VISION 2025 in mind, with participation from all walks of life. One thing becomes clear when reading stories from the past, and that is that in crucial moments in history, although there were differences of opinions, Aruba’s people were able to team up and pull in the same direction, working together to achieve important accomplishments.
I would like to conclude saying that the expression ONE HAPPY ISLAND, that by now seems immortal, reflects the experience of warmth, hospitality and happiness, felt by visitors when they’re on our island. We live on a wonderful island and it’s up to us to make it even more wonderful and happy for us. ATA and the government want to thank you for all your large and small contributions in the journey towards excellence in tourism development, from the baby steps to the big steps, from pioneers to entrepreneurs to those who contributed with their talent and all those who contribute giving our visitors positive experiences.
We count on you to continue the journey of hospitality and tourism for at least another 50 years.
Congratulations and thank you, Pasa un feliz anochi.
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Friday, November 13th, 2009 
October 1st will mark a special day in Aruba, as for the first time in the island’s history a unique pilot will start to improve the work of fire fighters. Local partners Setar, a telecommunications specialist, all 3 Aruba Marriott properties and the fire brigade joined forces in this pilot, using a new software system called iProtect. With iProtect the Aruba Fire Brigade will be immediately notified in case of a fire or any other major calamity at the monitored location with this pilot, the Aruba Marriott properties.
