General News

On Friday evening, January 27, Aruba’s Minister of Social & Economic Affairs and Culture placed the crown on the head of Exina Kock, who will now reign during the remaining events of Carnival 58 as the 18th Señora Carnival. This was the first of 3 Queen elections, the next to be elected are the Children’s and Youth Queens, and finally, in the last weeks of revelry, the Grand Carnival Queen. These spirited “beauty” pageants also award their winners for Best Speech, Best Show and Best Costume, with originality and authentic carnival spirit deciding factors.

Exina, representing Aruba HOG – the Harley Davidson Club, was decidedly elegant and will be a most appropriate Señora Carnival as she presented a gracious and delighted demeanor when being singled out by this year’s Prince and Pancho.

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De Palm Island was busy this past weekend training its nine water staff members in water-rescue procedures. A whole day event, Amy Spagnola, the Safety Officer for De Palm Tours, headed the training by implementing drills on assisting active and inactive victims in the water.

A rescue tool new to the island, the foam-composite, eleven-foot long surf board with three handles on each side is not only used to assist victims of injury in the water, but it is also taken on the guided snorkel trips the island provides guests for anyone who may become tired and in need of a break.

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Earlier this week, the Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba hosted a Social Media Boot Camp initiated by the Aruba Tourism Authority. In attendance were executives of many of Aruba’s tourism partners, all there to learn how to successfully navigate the social media scene, and optimize communication and engagement with their clients to ultimately better serve them. The full-day workshop, held in Westin’s Grand Palm Beach Ballroom, was presented by the Pulse Point Group from Austin, Texas, and was led by digital and social media and marketing expert Jeff Hunt and his team, including Brittany Aguilar, Bill Fieldman, and Jacklyn Allgayer.

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An Aruba/Harvard Workshop dedicated to the concepts of environment, energy and developmental Sustainability was held at the Dr. Edward Cheung Innovation Center in Aruba, with key administrators, Ministers and seven noted professors from Harvard, TNO energy think tank and TU Delft, one of the leading technical universities in Holland.

The visiting professors took a brief break from the morning sessions to be introduced to local media by Prime Minister Mike Eman and Minister of Finance, Communications, Utilities and Energy, Mike de Meza. (more…)

Giovanni Trim is a talented entertainer, popular at nume­rous Aruban resort happy hours. This past year he released an international video that is receiving wide acclaim. His original composition, “I Believe in Miracles,” hit high on the charts in 32 islands in the Caribbean, and his CD was picked up for distribution by Tempo Records in the U.S. Those who appreciate the unique regional sound of reggae with contemporary innovations will very much enjoy this collection.

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A small group of annual island visitors that make Aruba their home for most of the winter wanted to “give back” to the island which has provided them with such rewarding moments and opportunities to make friends from all over the U.S., and Aruba. 25 years ago, Friends of the Handicapped Foundation (FOTH) came into existence with the express purpose of raising money for the nume­rous organizations here that assist the mentally and phy­sically challenged, and now FOTH includes the aged and ill in their annual ceremony of award contributions.

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“Rockin’ the Fakkel” declared the tee shirts of the Aruba Trading carnival group as they made their way through the streets of Oranjestad for the inaugural parade of the 2012 Carnival season – Aruba’s 58th. Carnival is a tribute to good times, and the Fakkel rocked Aruba on Saturday night, January 7.

A bright, full moon shone down on the ten groups with their bands and followers, sometimes numbering over 1000, dancing down L.G. Smith Boulevard with this first casual, fun event finally ending well after midnight. The various groups revealed their themes for the several parades, jump-ups and contests that will take place over the next six weeks. (more…)

The results of several months of study by a team from the Dick Pope Senior Institute of Tourism Studies, Rosen College of Hospitality Management was the keynote of the opening session of the Aruba Tourism Summit 2012 at the Renaissance Convention Center on December 8.

Officially opening the summit was Minister of Tourism, Transport & Labor, Otmar Oduber, who introduced keynote speaker Dr. Robertico Croes, Interim Chair Tourism Events and Attractions and Associate Dean at Dick Pope; he conducted the study deploying hospitality students from the University of Aruba and the EPI professional training faci­lity of Aruba.

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