Amid Caribbean Slump, Curacao Tourism Booms

In a grim season for Caribbean tourism, an island just north of Venezuela stands out: Hotel rooms are scarce and discounts unavailable.

That’s largely because Curacao is crowded with Venezuelans, many fleeing their country’s spiraling inflation and currency controls for a Dutch Caribbean island best known for its diving opportunities and historic city center, a U.N. World Heritage site.

While other destinations are slashing prices and laying off resort workers, officials in Curacao have been trying to find private apartments for surplus visitors.

Curacao officials project 2008 visitor growth of 30 percent to about 390,000 people. The latest statistics from the Caribbean Tourism Organization show that rate would be the highest in the region at a time when the global economic crisis and airline flight cutbacks are eroding the key industry.

Curacao is a magnet for Venezuelans because it’s close –only about 40 miles- and its shops are filled with duty-free merchandise that is much more expensive at home. Flights are plentiful to Caracas and other cities, but they are almost all packed these days.

Curacao is expected to double the number of hotel rooms to 8,000 over the next two years and local officials say they are poised for more growth. But they also know they must market to other countries.