WILLEMSTAD – MAN parliamentarian Giselle Mc William has asked Minister of Economic Development Roderick Middelhof to send the complete Curaçao Tourism Carrying Capacity Study to Curaçao Parliament, arguing that lawmakers currently have only the executive summary despite the full study having been completed.
Mc William said parliamentary documents indicate that the study is finished and that several meetings have already taken place with stakeholders in Curaçao’s tourism industry. She argues that Parliament should therefore also have access to the complete findings before further decisions are made about the sector’s development.
The ten-page Executive Summary provided to Parliament contains significant warnings about the pace of tourism growth. Researchers conclude that the rapid expansion of the sector is placing increasing pressure on infrastructure, the natural environment and residents’ quality of life.
According to the summary, Curaçao received more than 700,000 stayover visitors in 2024, approximately 50 percent more than in 2019. If the current growth trajectory continues, the number could reach approximately 1.5 million by 2030.
Researchers warn that without policy changes, Curaçao could move toward conditions they classify as high risk and close to overtourism.
The study identifies wastewater management, solid waste disposal, roads, airport capacity and the health of coastal waters and coral reefs among the areas facing increasing pressure.
It also estimates that approximately 58 percent of tourism spending leaks out of the Curaçao economy through imports, foreign-owned businesses and external supply chains, limiting the amount of tourism revenue that ultimately remains on the island.
Researchers outline three possible paths for Curaçao: continuing the current largely market-driven growth model, managing tourism growth more actively, or temporarily slowing new development to give infrastructure and public services time to catch up.
The study favors a more managed approach in which future tourism development is linked to Curaçao’s carrying capacity rather than growth being treated as an objective by itself.
Mc William’s request is also significant because the Executive Summary refers to a separate “Decision Brief.” According to the summary, that document contains the package of decisions researchers believe the government should take, including choices involving budgets and cooperation between ministries. The Decision Brief was not included in the documents currently available to Parliament.
The researchers describe the next two years as critical in determining the direction of Curaçao’s tourism sector for the remainder of the decade. They indicate that the principal policy instruments have already been identified and that the challenge has now shifted from research toward implementation.
Mc William wants Middelhof to provide the complete study so Parliament can examine the underlying research and recommendations rather than relying solely on its summary as Curaçao considers how much further its rapidly expanding tourism industry can sustainably grow.