It’s been almost three years since Sandals first opened its resort in Curacao, the property debut that almost single-handedly changed the game for tourism on the Dutch Caribbean island.
And Curacao has been hotter than ever, with more than 700,000 stayover visitors last year and a very strong start to 2025, as Caribbean Journal reported.
Now, with continued record-breaking tourism arrivals, local officials are working to make sure that as its growth continues, it’s done in a sustainable way.
Curacao has launched a new partnership with Sustainable Travel International and the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies that will see the execution of a Destination Carrying Capacity Study, Caribbean Journal has learned.
The idea is to create a framework for evaluating the multifaceted impacts of increasing tourism, one that creates a “balanced, mutually-beneficial industry that maximizes economic benefits while safeguarding the island’s ecosystems, preserving its cultural heritage, and enhancing visitor satisfaction and community well-being.”
While “overtourism” may be a concern, this “isn’t about limiting tourism,” Sustainable Travel International’s Paloma Zapata says.
The goal is to create a virtuous cycle where thoughtful tourism growth strengthens community well-being and preserves the island’s unique appeal over time.”
That translates to something they call “high-value, low-impact” tourism.
It also shouldn’t be an insurmountable challenge on an island that has one of the Caribbean’s most effective blends of local-visitor harmony in the experience, a strong infrastructure and an island with a number of regions with a very low density of development.
