On Monday, Aruba Tourism Authority (A.T.A)was awarded the Destination Resilience Award from Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) for the work carried out during the pandemic. This is the first time that this prize was handed out.
The prize was handed out during an award ceremony in San Juan, Puerto Rico as part of the 40th anniversary of CHTA’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace. Jamaica, Antigua, Bahamas and St. Lucia were the other islands competing in the same category as Aruba.
Aruba was recognized for its destination policy and the recovery programs that were implemented in order to receive visitors back after the closure of the border.
Ronella Croes, CEO of A.T.A. commented: “We are extremely honored that Aruba can be recognized and receive this prize. Aruba gave its part, and the team working in tourism and other sectors, partners in the private and public sectors, our leaders and the Crisis Team, to mention some. We managed to open the border back in a safe way, and to navigate through various protocols and regulations. This award is proof of these alliances as well as the hard work of our community in order to ensure a strong and sustainable recovery for our island.”
Seeing the fact that this prize originates from the travel and tourism sector, some of the aspects highlighted by A.T.A., among others, that Aruba was recognized with this prize for the efforts to create a hub with all information related to Covid-19 on social media, website as well as eCRM. In this hub, A.T.A. implemented communication campaigns including “Happiness will Prevail” and “Open for Happiness”, where it was duly communicated about the closing and reopening phases, while a message of hope was created with the consumers and gave them a warm welcome with open arms as soon as it was possible and safe to do this.
The documentation compiled illustrated a lot of other achievements, including digitalization of the immigration platform, introduction of the Aruba Visitors Insurance, hard and successful work of Aruba, which A.T.A. has the honor to accept. This is a merit to both the public and private sectors that worked closely for the benefit of our tourism, including the entire team of A.T.A. which is the local and international team, as well as key agencies working for Aruba, the ministry of Health and Tourism, AHATA, AAA, ATSA and many others who played their part in the recovery.
Since the reopening, Aruba experienced a successful recovery. Between April and August 2022, visitor arrivals surpassed the amount of visitors per month for 2019, something that gives assurance that there will be a 100% recovery in global visitors by the end of this year. For 2023, a recovery of 105% compared to 2019 is projected.
During the recognition from CHTA, Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort also won Best Practices Sales and Marketing for their work.
Without the effort of everyone, the Destination Resilience Award would not have been possible.
Many thanks to everyone who forms part of the recovery of Aruba! This award is another step in showing a resilient Aruba, and an Aruba that moves with courage and determination during the historic pandemic that struck the entire world.
