November 8th, 2005 By Ben Chapman for TravelAgent
The Caribbean island of Aruba is recovering from the much-publicized disappearance of an Alabama teenager,
Natalee Holloway, in the spring, island officials and agents say, citing strong occupancy and arrivals, and a renewed commitment
to visitor safety.
The hospitality community is deeply concerned with the Holloway case, says Myrna
Jansen, managing director for the Aruba
Tourism Authority. “Aruba is a very safe place,
and that’s why the case has been so widely
publicized,” she says. “We certainly hope it’s
solved very soon.”
Positive Signs
Jansen says Aruba’s reputation remains in-tact, noting that U.S. arrivals for June 2005
were up 9 percent over a year ago, and hotel
occupancy forecasts are also higher than
last year’s, with 79 percent island-wide occupancy estimated for October and 78 percent
predicted for November. “Aruba leads the
Caribbean in repeat visits, with 40 percent of
our visitors returning to the destination,” she
explains. “They know that Aruba is a safe island, and it’s great to have that support.”
The southern Caribbean destination continues to see a strong mix of families and
honeymoon travelers, especially in the high
season between Dec. 23 and Easter, when
room rates can go up as much as 30 percent, says Rob Smith, general manager at the
481-room Wyndham Aruba Resort Spa &
Casino. “Our guest probe is changing
slightly-it’s becoming demographically a little more upscale,” he observes, “We’re looking
at the first quarter of next year and it looks
great, even compared with 2005, which has
been an excellent year.”
Smith is president of the Aruba Hospitality
& Security Foundation, a four-year-old public/private partnership designed to increase
the visibility of law enforcement in tourist
zones. “We started the foundation because we
realize safety is one of our top selling points
here in Aruba,” he explains. “In the post 9-11
era we thought it was a good idea to increase
the visibility of the security force. The foundation currently employs 71 uniformed security
guards that work directly with police, patrolling
hotels, beaches, and other areas frequented
by visitors,” Smith says. Primary funding for the
$1.5 million-dollar program comes from the
Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association.
What Agents Say
Good air coverage, packages from wholesalers, and a diverse set of island attractions
product are making for a good year in Aruba,
agents say, despite the substantial publicity
around Holloway’s disappearance.
Direct flights to Aruba, like those offered by
US Airways from Philadelphia, are major selling points for the destination, says Donna
Stoop, owner of Jade Travel Services in Aston,
PA. “I’m continuing to see a lot of interest in
Aruba, because of the variety there. It has
beautiful beaches, excellent diving, and
Vegas-style casinos,” she explains.
Jamie McCabe, owner of See Life Travel in
Ellington, CT, says that packages from the
Northeast to Aruba help make the destination
especially attractive, noting that Apple Vacations, GMV Vacations and TNT Vacations all
offer Aruba packages, some with direct charter
flights from the East Coast. In McCabe’s primary markets in the Northeast, the perception
of Aruba is one of safety, she says. “In my opinion, Aruba is one of the safest destinations in
the Caribbean. I’m not hearing any concerns
about safety from my clients.”
But the Holloway disappearance
has changed things for at least one
travel agency in the teen’s hometown. Cheryl Floyd, leisure specialist
at All Seasons Travel, in Birmingham, AL, says “Certainly Natalee’s
disappearance has impacted us.
Before this summer, we sold a significant amount of Aruba business,
but I don’t think we’ve sold a single
Aruba package since then.
“People are staying away out of
respect to the family, but also because there is a certain amount of fear involved,” she says. “I hope
things get back to normal, because Aruba is such a lovely island, and the people there really
depend on tourism.”
