WILLEMSTAD - Sea Aquarium is active in the prepaid market and has been able to demonstrate sufficiently that it is not a postpaid tour operator. In view of this, the Fair Trade Authority of Curaçao (Ftac) is adjusting its previous position and the Sea Aquarium is not a violator of the competition law.
The 'competition watchdog' of Curaçao, the Ftac, announces based on the National Ordinance on Competition that the 'Decision on objection Curaçao Public Aquarium NV against the decision on collective determination of sales prices for tourist tours Mega Pier' has been adopted on 21 December.
Sea Aquarium, Ftac explains, was given the opportunity to give its opinion on the draft decision. In its opinion, Sea Aquarium put forward that it was 'wrongly' regarded as a party, because Sea Aquarium only picks up prepaid tourists at the Mega Pier.
However, Sea Aquarium initially did not submit any documents to substantiate its assertion. Curaçao Public Aquarium, as the company is officially called, was then requested by the Ftac to substantiate the submitted view with documents.
A deadline was given until April 9, 2021. "This period has expired without documents from Sea Aquarium being received," said the body that monitors and intervenes in situations where competition law is at stake.
After no evidence was submitted by which Sea Aquarium proved the contrary of what was made available on the basis of 'extensive research' in the draft decision, Curaçao Public Aquarium was 'marked as a violator' of the National Ordinance on Competition by Ftac and a binding instruction was imposed on the company.
However, by letter dated 21 July 2021, Sea Aquarium filed a notice of objection – with an annex – against the contested decision. Ftac about this: "With the objection, Sea Aquarium has submitted a document, being a contract with a cruise line, which shows that Sea Aquarium picks up tourists at Mega Pier who have paid in advance via the cruise line."
And during the investigation carried out by Ftac, it became clear 'that tour operators are not (may) not be active in both the prepaid and postpaid markets'. “Now that the contract submitted in objection by Sea Aquarium shows that it is active in the prepaid market, it has been sufficiently established that Sea Aquarium is not a postpaid tour operator.”
That is why the competition watchdog has changed its view: Ftac still takes the position that Sea Aquarium 'cannot be regarded as an offender'. “The objection of Sea Aquarium is upheld. The contested decision is revoked”, at least in so far as Sea Aquarium is regarded as an offender and a binding instruction has been imposed on it.
Natural or legal persons, whose interests are directly affected by this decision, can appeal against it to the Court of First Instance Curaçao. The term for this is six weeks after the day on which the decision was published in the National Gazette.