Above: Aruba
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Aruba topped one million stayover visitors last year, the first time the island has done so in its history.
The 1 millionth visitor arrived on a JetBlue flight from New York late last month.
The tally marks a strong increase over the 979,256 stayover visitors the island drew in 2013 (complete data for 2014 is not yet available), according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data.
It also makes Aruba one of just five Caribbean destinations above the 1 million mark, along with the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
“Over the last 50 years, Aruba has transformed from a quaint Dutch Caribbean island into a thriving tourist destination, and it meant the world to our local people to celebrate a milestone alongside some of our many valued visitors,” Aruba Tourism Authority CEO Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croes said in a release.
2014 also marked the third year in a row the destination broke an arrivals record; last year’s output and 2012 also represented record totals.