Aruba Shines For Visitors

Aruba’s government is giving an island that likes to note its dry climate provides plenty of sunshine for tourists a distinctly greenish hue.

The government is spending over US$1 billion on a revitalization program that will enhance visitor experiences and life for residents alike, with the hefty expenditure including an already-completed trolley system carrying people to cultural locales, the nearly completed building of the largest linear park in the Caribbean and the upgrading of the airport.

The entire project is to be completed by 2020.

Work is also now underway relocating the island’s cargo port away from its cruise port, which will lead to a facility dedicated to cruises alone. That’s expected to be completed shortly.

And, says Prime Minister Mike Eman, both those who call Aruba home and those vacationing on the island stand to benefit from the work.

“A nice place to live is a nice place to visit. We’re very much concentrating on five-star hotels but also on five-star schools,” Eman told Travel Courier of a destination that actively encourages visitors to mingle with locals.

Coinciding with the revitalization program is Aruba’s working toward becoming a “100% sustainable society,” totally reliant on “alternative sources of renewable energy” for its energy needs by 2020. That goal is earning the island praise from foreign business leaders, politicians and entertainers.

“We are an island that is being followed by the rest,” Eman said of pioneering Aruba efforts.

Arriving visitors will quickly notice the commitment to renewable energy, with panels used to harness solar energy being visible to them as soon as they leave the airport.

Those goals are expected to earn Aruba added appreciation among the world’s vacationers during a time of heightened environmental concerns.

These are good times for Aruba’s tourist trade, with the island seeing over a million air visitors last year for the first time and 667,095 more people who visited during cruises.