Willemstad, 26 January 2022 - On a monthly basis the associations CHATA & CASHA publish the figures regarding hotels, alternative accommodations, car rentals and diving schools. By doing this together, both associations aim to create a broader and balanced overview of Curaçao’s tourism & hospitality sector’s performance and recovery during the ongoing pandemic.

CASHA presents occupancy figures for December 2021

The accommodation occupancy in December was 80%, which is a little less than the November occupancy of 83.1%. Some accommodations reached an occupancy of 100% while the other accommodations reached an occupancy of 56% to 95%. Two accommodations reached an occupancy of less than 50%, even though they’re both located near the sea.

Bookings are still happening last minute, and people are still waiting to book their holidays, as a lot can change in the blink of an eye. Members and colleagues share to be fully booked for the first quarter of 2022; however, the rest of the year remains empty. Also, the summer bookings are, contraire to pre-covid, not coming in yet and in December travelers were still re-arranging their travels.  The expectation and hope is that this trend decreases or even does not continue in 2022. Most cancelations are Covid related. Additionally, a lot of Canadians had to cancel their trip, as the Canadian airline, Air Canada, will not be flying to Curaçao temporarily as per the end of January.

Furthermore, two dive schools participated in the monthly reporting, with an average occupancy of 43%. Many dive trips were canceled due to a positive test result on the 3rd day. The average occupancy for car rentals was 83.5%. Guests are experiencing the stress of the island’s entry process (testing and documentation) as burdensome, as only after a negative 3rd day test result, they are able to start enjoying their vacation. Many guests even indicate to not have even started with their vacation planning if they knew about the process in advance.

CASHA-members are happy again they are able to do what they do best, serve guests with lodging, dives, car rental or tours. It’s going in the right direction. 2021 ended on a fantastic note, as tourists know their way to Curaçao. We look forward to a 2022 filled with tourists and hope that, just like other countries, the test-burden will lessen, and tourists can enjoy their trip starting from the booking preparations.

About CASHA

CASHA is the association for entrepreneurs with small businesses in the tourism sector including accommodations, car rentals, dive schools, taxis and excursion companies, attractions, and experiences.

CHATA presents occupancy figures for December and overall year 2021

December was an equal representation to the prior months. 2021 marks, despite the slow first half of the year, a year of growth and recovery. In December of 2021 Curaçao had a hotel occupancy of 75.2%. Compared to 2020 (29.1%) this is an increase of 158.8%. If we look at the occupancy data pre-COVID (December 2019), this is also a slight increase of 9.6%. The average daily rate also increased with 43.7% compared to 2020, to $218.76. Compared to December of 2019, this is also an increase of 18.1%.

As for the revenue per available room, numbers indicate a significant increase of 271.8% compared to 2020. From $44.25 in 2020 to $164.50 in 2021. Even compared to the pre-COVID data, the revenue per available room increased with 29.4%.

The overall hotel performance for 2021, despite the bad performance of the first half of the year, clearly increased compared to 2020 as well as monthly and even compared to pre-covid data from 2019. The overall average occupancy for 2021 was 51.1%. Compared to the overall 2020 occupancy (35.4%) this is an increase of 44.4%. The average daily rate of 2021 was $163.36. Compared to 2020, this is an increase of 12.7%. As for the overall average revenue per available room, in 2021 this was $88.12 which is an increase of 59.6% compared to 2020.

The table below, showcases the STR data compared to the last two years:

*Source: STR. Smith Travel Research (STR) is the leading global provider of competitive benchmarking, information services and research to the hotel industry.

CHATA remains carefully optimistic, however, with all the uncertainties that remain in 2022, it is impossible to ignore the important takeaways from the passed. According to recent research carried out by the world-renowned management consulting firm, McKinsey, 2021 was a year of transformation. People, corporations, and societies began to look ahead to influence their futures, rather than just surviving the present.

CHATA foresees this transformation trend continuing in 2022, also for the tourism sector. Travelers now have a new and different travel appetite, different reasons for selecting their holiday destination and are seeking different and unique experiences from a destination. In 2021 we saw a transformed tourist who chooses Curaçao, as they are staying longer and spending more. Additionally, the tourist that visits our destination is on average younger than before.

CHATA continues to monitor the developments of the sector closely and on a structural basis and when necessary, supports and advice the government, and develops various education and training programs, aiming on the recovery and development of the sector and therefore improving an important pilar of our economy.

About CHATA

CHATA is the association representing around 250 active members in the tourism sector. The platform consists of e.g., medium, and large hotels, dive schools, car rentals, taxis, attractions, tour operators and airlines.

CHATA and CASHA continue to encourage their members to abide to the current measures to keep the situation under control and continue recovery of the tourism sector in a safe way.