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Given vulnerability to shocks
Action should be taken to make tourism sector more resilient
Willemstad/Philipsburg – The tourism sector is currently the main economic pillar in both Curaçao and Sint Maarten, not only in terms of the direct and indirect contribution to GDP and employment but also in terms of foreign exchange earnings. A frequently mentioned concern with regard to highly dependent tourism economies is, however, their vulnerability to shocks. The collapse of the tourism and travel industry on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified this concern. “Having a more diversified economy where the tourism sector is complemented with other sectors as key drivers of growth would make Curaçao and Sint Maarten less susceptible to shocks”, according to the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) president, Richard Doornbosch in the June 2024 Economic Bulletin. “The reality is, however, that it often takes time before the efforts to develop a new sector pay off. Hence, while we are working on broadening our economic base, it is crucial to focus on the resilience of the tourism sector, which is currently our economic mainstay”.