The Curacao Tourism Development Foundation has named a new regional manager for North America, Caribbean Journal has learned. 

The island’s top tourism agency has tapped Jacqueline Sybrandy-Held to the role, effective immediately. 

Sybrandy-Held will oversee development and implementation of sales and branding efforts for the Curacao Tourist Board. 

Her carrier includes serving as sales and marketing manager at the island’s top resort, the Baoase Luxury Resort. 

She will take on a market that has been a major struggle for Curacao for years. 

That seems to be changing of late thanks to the debut of the Sandals Royal Curacao resort; in the first month after the resort’s opening the island saw its highest-ever month of arrivals from the United States. 

“Seeing the growth numbers for the US and upward pattern is incredibly inspiring and a direction I have no intention of seeing slow down as I step in to this role,” Sybrandy-Held stated. “My 14 years of tourism-specific sales and marketing experience has always focused largely on the North American market and I look forward to concentrating my efforts there to continue to pursue record breaking numbers for the island.”