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No. 2022-026
CBCS: Strong economic rebound in 2021
War and inflation hamper recovery in 2022
WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG – Following a deep contraction in 2020 brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and related strict containment measures, the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) estimates in its June 2022 Economic Bulletin that economic activity rebounded strongly across the monetary union in 2021, with real GDP growing by 5.0% in Curaçao and 8.6% in Sint Maarten. “The strong economic rebound was driven primarily by a sustained pick-up in stay-over tourism, especially in the second half of 2021. Stay-over tourism arrivals in both Curaçao and Sint Maarten recovered at a much faster pace than initially expected as containment measures, among other things, were gradually eased,” noted CBCS president Richard Doornbosch. “The 2021 growth estimate therefore represents a significant upward revision from the real GDP expansion of 2.0% for Curaçao and 4.5% for Sint Maarten presented in the March 2022 Economic Bulletin,” he pointed out.