One of the Caribbean’s biggest post-pandemic success stories has reported another strong month of tourism, according to new data obtained by Caribbean Journal.
The Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao reported 43,352 stopover tourist arrivals in May, a 21.6 percent increase compared to May of 2022, according to the Curacao Hotel and Tourism Association.
That 21.6 percent rate was among the highest of any destination in the Caribbean last month, continuing a strong tourism trend in Curacao that began with the entry of Sandals Royal Curacao to the market last summer.
In May, the total number of visitor nights in Curacao hotels grew by 10 percent to 361,186, although the average length of stay saw a slight reduction to 8.29 nights.
Overall, hotel occupancy in Curacao was 64.2 percent, which was actually slightly down from the 66.8 percent rate achieved in May 2022. That is a sign of the continued import of the home-sharing economy in Curacao and the wider Caribbean, where vacation rentals continue to capture many travelers that the hotel industry does not.
For the first five months of the year, Curacao is seeing a 20.3 percent increase in stopover visitors compared to last year, with a total of 228,500 visitors counted so far this year.
For the first five months of the year, hotel occupancy is averaging 71 on the island, according to data from hotel analytics firm STR.