From the Caribbean to the World

Children of the Wind

2011-09-16T15:24:00.001+02:00

Last week I attended a special day called "The taste of Bonaire". Bonaire is a sister Island to Aruba and is also part of the Dutch Caribbean. Bonaire has only about 15.000 inhabitants and depends highly on Tourism. IN Turn, its Tourism depends highly on their Nature. Bonaire has one of the most beautiful coral reefs in The Cariebbean and even the World. They also host the largets Flamingo colony

A tax too far

2011-08-17T10:18:00.002+02:00

Current economical situations are affecting everyone in the World. In the Caribbean we are affected as well. We at Caribbean2world think that taxing travel to the Caribbean in an unfair way is damaging for everyone. The "funny" thing is that when people stop flying to the Caribbean the UK government will also receive less taxes. A typical burocratic "big picture" measure. We look forward to your

Your current Island infrastructure is a product of your aspiration

2011-08-09T03:27:00.000+02:00

During our latest marketing meetings we have been discussing the current state of our Islands infrastructure and how this affects tourism. More and more we have been getting reactions from tourists that our Island is losing its identity and becoming a destination just like everything else. We have the same architecture, the same franchises etc. The internationalization (Americanization) of our

Tourism was invented by the Germans

2011-06-11T17:31:00.001+02:00

Tourism is one of the biggest economic drivers for many destinations. The German Market has become some sort of prestige battle between the Caribbean Islands. Who's got the most German tourists, who's got the best direct flights. Well Now I know. The Germans actually invented tourism and laid the foundations for the Industry as it is now. With catalogues and guides long before the Lonely planets

Corresponsalia

2011-05-02T11:37:00.000+02:00

Guest Blogger - Ewald Biemans: Aruba's Palapa Wars

2011-03-28T10:39:00.001+02:00

For this edition we present to our readers a guest Blog by award winning Caribbean Hotelier and business man Mr. Ewald Biemans. In this day and age, the topic of his blog is growing in importance. Where and how can we find the perfect balance of developing our Islands for better Tourism and availability of our resources for the local people. ARUBA'S PALAPA WARS -

Current affaires, business and The Caribbean

2011-03-14T16:40:00.000+01:00

The largest Tourism show (ITB Berlin) in Europe just ended. On the second day, we received the sad news about the situations in Japan. However, business went on as usual. I was at the Aruba stand handling a full agenda of meetings and appointments. Things for Aruba are looking good. A small part we play in what is keeping this world go round. Going into the ITB my head was full of chatter and

Don't succumb to stress, reflecting on your business or career the Caribbean way

2011-01-05T22:30:00.000+01:00

There is a reason people in the Caribbean do not have a lot of problems with stress. we take things easy. Although this is regarded in some cultures (western capitalist) as not being professional, it does have its advantages. The current trend is: being able to adapt your professional life to your private lifestyle. The younger generations are combining these more easily by the day. Ancient

The uncommon Caribbean

2010-12-24T04:43:00.002+01:00

As a lover of the Caribbean region I recently became a fan of the blog: uncommon Caribbean: www.uncommoncaribbean.com They have easy and fun to read stories about what you can encounter there. I especially like the fact that it tells you about the great things the Caribbean has to offer apart from the popular resorts and tourist areas. Check em out, and hope to see you in our uncommon

Who is promoting who

2010-12-13T18:50:00.000+01:00

Currently I am attending an event where we have the opportunity to give workshops to travel agents. We have been invited as partners of a large Tour Operator who wants to promote its new Caribbean Catalogue. It strikes me that there are less and less destinations present and more accomodations as partners. I don't really mind, this means less competition for me. However, what concerns me is that

The Dutch (Caribbean) Kingdom and 10-10-10

2010-11-04T21:22:00.000+01:00

Image via WikipediaThis year, October 10, the Dutch Kingdom underwent a mayor change. After long negotiations and referenda the Kingdom introduced two new countries and added 3 new communities to it's largest country. The Dutch Caribbean Islands have always been know as the Dutch Antilles. the 3 largest Islands in the south were called the ABC Islands, and the smaller ones in the north east the

What they don’t teach you in Marketing class

2010-10-12T22:50:00.008+02:00

Marketing is a widespread “phenomenon”. When I started my studies, it was still relatively new and specific. Nowadays, it seems, everybody is a marketer. Or at least feel they are. I remember one professor telling us: “forget everything you have learned, throw away all your marketing books. Just use your common sense”. Marketing for him was 90% common sense and 10% application of theoretical

Career lessons from a bird

2010-09-24T15:26:00.000+02:00

Respect for the spiritual and beyond is still normal in the Caribbean. It is getting less and less with newer generations, but as I mentioned in my previous blog "Superstition as a marketing tool", we can still learn from them. Sitting in a business hotel lobby in Basel, A memory sprung back into my mind. This is a true story and from time to time still keeps me pondering. On a stormy night at

Donkey Sanctuary Aruba, a Caribbean Social Media success story

2010-08-20T15:12:00.000+02:00

For the past couple of months I have been a FaceBook fan of the Donkey Sanctuary Aruba . The amount and quality of interaction with their fans really impressed me. By well use of new "free" social media to promote themselves an reach their goals, in my opinion, they really got it right. This is a good example on how using social media can be an important tool for small Caribbean organisations in

Are Caribbean professionals longing for home....?

2010-08-12T10:54:00.004+02:00

Image by th.omas via Flickr The Caribbean.....sounds like a dream destination to live and work. At least that is what everyone I meet tells me. "Why are you living in Europe?" is one of the classic returning questions I constantly get. Well, other than promoting my Home Island Aruba, I also enjoy the possibilities to develop myself professionally and as a person. My standard answer therefore

Are European flight taxes pushing Caribbean destinations to re-focus on the USA?

2010-07-27T00:03:00.003+02:00

Image via Wikipedia The Airline Industry is currently going through an overhaul. New alliances are being forged (the latest being that of American Airlines, British-airways and Iberia ) and new pricing and yielding strategies implemented as a result of new (green) taxes. In The Netherlands a lobby by a.o. Schiphol and KLM have led to the government eliminating the "vliegtax" whilst in Germany

Superstition as Marketing tool

2010-07-10T22:07:00.003+02:00

The final of the world cup is getting near and on Friday July 9th, the world was watching......an octopus. Paul the Octopus living in a zoo in Oberhausen Germany. He choose Spain over Holland to win the final. Do we really believe this in anno 2010? The digital and information age? Apparently so. However, let us not forget that he predicted the final of the Euro Cup final in 2008incorrectly. (

Claiming a (our) spot

2010-06-23T16:25:00.011+02:00

Throughout history many regions, countries, continents and societies had their claim to fame and some still do. The Chinese had their various Dynasties, England their empire and industrial revolution, and currently we are living in the age of democracy and technology mainly distributed by the USA. All my life I had been reading and learning about all these amazing nations and their people. The