WILLEMSTAD - CASHA, the association of small business owners active in the tourism sector, announces its figures for the month of April 2021: Accommodations have achieved an occupancy in April of only 10.5%. In March 2021 it was still 25.1%.
Of the 31 accommodations that participated in this survey, no fewer than 14 accommodation owners indicated that they had not received any guests in April.
Only 2 accommodations have scored above 40%. The highest score was 45%, upon inquiry it turned out that the owner has rented out his apartments to regular guests for 2 months.
11 accommodations have had an occupancy of under 25%, from 1% to 23.3%, this mainly concerns local guests during the Easter days, at a local rate in many cases.
The other 4 accommodations with "high" percentages are between 26.5% and 39%, one of these accommodations is located by the sea and guests can use the beach with its associated diving facilities.
Dive schools that are not located in a resort have not been able to receive any dive clients, turnover is 0%.
The organization encounters the same disappointing results with the attractions and tours. These attractions are still closed so far and have not been able to receive customers, while all activities take place outside, turnover is 0%. A tour company specializing in outdoor activities has only been able to do one walking tour this month with a minimum number of participants.
At the accommodations, the bookings received with great difficulty for April, were canceled outright, many accommodation owners saw their occupancy drop to 0%, again an empty complex, again the company in mothballs. Cancellations also poured in at the car rental companies, of course it is difficult to rent out cars if you are only allowed to drive them for 2 days a week.
Plachi de dia (license plate of the day) was mentioned by many members of CASHA as the reason for the cancellations, including the fact that the beaches were closed, then only to be visited from 04:30 to 08:00. Furthermore, the limited number of restaurants that were open for delivery, the point that you could only visit the restaurant as a guest of a resort also proved to be reasons for cancellations. Therefore, guests booked into a hotel with restaurant facilities. Curfew is experienced as a nuisance, but according to the accommodation owners, this was still tolerable.
The biggest source of annoyance and the reason that many travelers choose a different destination this year has mainly to do with the tests, which must be arranged in advance.
These tests are customer and user-unfriendly and a great source of annoyance. Tests arrive too late, so printing is not always possible. The system is faltering. It takes a lot of time and effort in a period of departure that is already stressful.
In particular, the antigen test on the 3rd day after arrival is a thorn in the side, 15% of people who have made an appointment simply do not show up for this test, which must be booked and paid in advance, data on this is not available or will not be disclosed. In addition, these tests are expensive and add to the cost of the trip. CASHA is of the opinion that this test does not contribute to the public health of Curacao, the added value is not clear and should be the first of the mandatory list to disappear.
The members of CASHA are happy with the easing that will take effect on 19 May, but do not expect the situation to look rosy again immediately. It will take a long time before they can speak of a reasonable to normal occupation. Support remains necessary for the time being. Many business owners no longer have reserves and experience problems to pay fixed costs such as rent, mortgage and utilities. It is uncertain whether the NOW and the TBZO scheme will be paid out for the month of April, the TVL has already been put on hold.
All hope was focused on the National Dialogue, of which so far only reports have come out about telephones that were not allowed in and breathing exercises that were done together. What was discussed there, what is the conclusion and where was the new government? Shouldn't they have been present, after all, they are the ones who should follow up on this!
These remain uncertain times for the business owners in Curacao.