Another 7,000 Hotel Rooms in the Next Two Years

Another 7,000 Hotel Rooms in the Next Two Years

August 6, 2026

Today's Antilliaans Dagblad carries the headline: "Close to Overtourism." Personally, I believe we crossed that line long ago. I already argued this in my 2022 blog, "Has Curaçao's Tourism Sector Reached Its Limits?"

Mariano recently said in one of his livestreams that he and I have been making this point for years, and that people mostly see us as a nuisance because of it.

I tried to download the underlying report online, only to discover that it is still unavailable. According to reports, the study was completed in November 2025, yet it has never been made public. In the meantime, the executive summary has been leaked, and among others, Antilliaans Dagblad has obtained a copy. According to the summary, Curaçao is approaching the limits of its tourism carrying capacity.

On my way to the mailbox—although I usually read the newspaper online, I wanted to read this article on paper—I ran into my neighbor, a tourism expert. He confirmed much of what I had read and told me that approximately 7,000 additional hotel rooms are still in the pipeline for the next two years. That is consistent with earlier figures showing that Curaçao's accommodation capacity is set to expand significantly.

CHATA has been saying for quite some time that the industry cannot find enough employees. VBC kept insisting that it would wait for this report before taking a position. I would not be surprised if another reason is now found to avoid taking a clear stand.

And this process is unlikely to stop on its own. In his doctoral dissertation, Arjen Albers describes the powerful dynamics behind the tourism sector. He uses different words, but the message is essentially the same: once the sector gains momentum, it becomes extremely difficult to slow its continued expansion.

This reminds me of the Town Hall Meeting on the future of Caracas Bay. At the time, several young participants tried to convince us that responsible and sustainable development was still possible. We have heard very little from them since, while the developments appear to be continuing regardless.

I do not want to make this piece too long, and I am certainly not depressed. But the reality is that Curaçao, through its growing dependence on a single economic sector, appears to have reached a point of no return. If this trend continues unchecked, future generations will no longer recognize the island on which we grew up.

And perhaps that is the most troubling part of all: how incredibly fast it has happened.

Miguel Goede