WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s tourism industry has emerged strongly from the COVID-19 crisis, but continued expansion must be managed carefully to prevent growth from damaging the environment, infrastructure and quality of life that underpin the industry itself, according to the Curaçao Hospitality & Tourism Association (CHATA).
During the Tourism Press Conference on Tuesday, CHATA presented its framework for “Growth, Responsibility & Carrying Capacity,” arguing that Curaçao should increasingly focus on the quality and economic value of tourism rather than simply pursuing higher visitor numbers.
CHATA described the recovery since the pandemic as remarkable. Stayover tourism has returned to pre-pandemic levels and surpassed them in several segments. The organization said the next question is therefore no longer simply how Curaçao can attract more visitors, but whether the island can continue growing responsibly.
The latest figures demonstrate the strength of the sector. Curaçao received 66,187 stayover visitors in August, an increase of 9.2 percent compared with a year earlier. Hotel occupancy reached 76.2 percent, while average occupancy during the first eight months of the year stood at 82 percent, compared with 76.8 percent in 2025.
Through August, Curaçao had received 578,814 stayover visitors, 9.7 percent more than during the same period last year. Total visitor arrivals, including other categories, reached nearly 1.19 million, an increase of 6.4 percent. Hotel performance also strengthened, with the average daily rate reaching US$275, up 11.9 percent, and revenue per available room increasing 13.9 percent to US$209.60.
The United States continued to grow rapidly as a source market. Curaçao welcomed 18,410 American visitors in August, 16.7 percent more than a year earlier and only slightly below the Netherlands, which remained the largest market with 18,809 visitors despite a 3.9 percent decline.
Argentina recorded the fastest growth among the highlighted markets, increasing 51.5 percent to 3,296 visitors. Colombia contributed 5,154 visitors and Brazil 2,981.
CHATA also pointed to the Blue Wave and Curaçao’s Little League success as examples of unexpected events capable of generating substantial additional tourism demand. According to the organization, these events demonstrated that Curaçao can absorb significant unplanned increases in visitors, but they also underline the need for infrastructure capable of handling sudden peaks without undermining the visitor experience or residents’ quality of life.
Against that background, CHATA is advocating what it describes as “quality over volume.”
The organization said future tourism growth should increasingly be based on Curaçao’s culture, cuisine, wellness offerings and authentic identity. Protecting beaches and coral reefs should meanwhile be regarded as an economic necessity rather than simply an environmental objective.
“The island itself is the product,” CHATA stated in its presentation, arguing that sustainable tourism should be regarded as an economic insurance policy rather than a restriction on development.
CHATA also addressed the debate over how much tourism revenue leaves Curaçao instead of remaining in the local economy.
The organization said its current estimate of tourism-related economic “leakage” is approximately 38 percent, rather than the 58 percent figure that has also been cited. However, CHATA stressed that the calculation is still being examined together with the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS), the Ministry of Economic Development (MEO) and the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB).
According to the presentation, genuine leakage results partly from Curaçao’s dependence on imported food and materials, expatriate workers in senior positions and foreign ownership resulting in profits being transferred abroad.
At the same time, CHATA believes existing estimates may be distorted because some card transactions are recorded as taking place outside Curaçao. The calculation may also fail to adequately account for profits that are subsequently reinvested on the island. CHATA cited US$1.486 billion in hotel investment in this context.
The organization therefore cautioned against making policy decisions based on the current leakage figures until the methodology has been reviewed.
For CHATA, the broader challenge is determining Curaçao's tourism carrying capacity. The association argues that there is no single maximum number of tourists the island can accommodate. Carrying capacity instead depends on environmental conditions, economic benefits, residents' well-being and the ability of infrastructure—including roads, water supplies and waste facilities—to handle continued growth.
CHATA is recommending that Curaçao introduce sustainability requirements for new accommodation projects, including wastewater, energy and waste-management plans as conditions for permits. It also proposes an annual tourism sustainability report, incentives for hotels to purchase more food, materials and services locally, and a quarterly carrying-capacity dashboard monitoring environmental, economic and infrastructure indicators.
The message from the hospitality sector is therefore not that Curaçao should stop growing, but that future expansion must increasingly be measured by what tourism leaves behind for the island rather than simply by how many visitors arrive.