Above: Curacao

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Curacao’s tourism sector is surging in 2013, according to a new report from Expedia.

The booking giant said it is seeing growth across a number of source markets, including 18 percent year over year growth from the United States.

So far in 2013, nearly 40,000 room nights have been booked through Expedia in Curacao.

While the Netherlands, the primary source market for the island, showed 40 percent growth, other source markets like Germany and Canada also improved, with 40 percent and 35 percent growth in the third quarter, respectively.

“Strong vacation packages and increased connectivity has resulted in substantial growth for the destination of Curacao,” said Brett Minzner, area manager for the Expedia group in the Caribbean. “Hotel partners in Curacao are experiencing the benefits of partnering with Expedia vacation packages, as travel demand is increasing in markets such as the United States and Netherlands, while Sweden, an emerging market, is reporting substantial growth.”

Expedia has tripled its number of hotel partners in Curacao since 2009, the company said, with an overall triple-digit increase in demand since 2009.