Sneaky

Sneaky

June 11, 2026

Today I received a digital flyer inviting me to a Town Hall Meeting about the development of Caracas Bay. The meeting will take place on Saturday, June 13, at 9:00 a.m., exactly one day before Curaçao makes its World Cup debut.

A coincidence? I do not believe so. The entire country is currently consumed by World Cup fever. That is precisely why it is remarkable that a meeting about one of Curaçao’s most sensitive spatial development projects is being organized at this particular moment.

The QR code on the invitation was barely readable. I eventually managed to register through the CTB Facebook page. That immediately raises another question: why is the Curaçao Tourist Board organizing this event in the first place? Beaches belong to the people. They do not belong to the CTB, nor exclusively to tourists.

The CTB focuses solely on the growth of tourism. But Caracas Bay and its surroundings have long been feeling the effects of that growth. From Jan Thiel to Laman, and from the many pod houses to numerous other construction projects, almost everything seems aimed at foreign investors and tourists. Nature and authenticity are steadily disappearing.

Moreover, this meeting feels like a mere formality. Anyone who visits Caracas Bay regularly—or daily—can see that the work has effectively already begun. Over the past few days, large concrete blocks have been placed underwater. The new palapas are already visible. Several months ago, someone appeared and started building small masonry pillars every ten meters. It later turned out that these were BBQ pits.

The result is hardly an improvement. Charcoal residue now paints large sections of the beach in every shade of gray. Caracas Bay is not the first beach to suffer this fate. Lagun was also once “upgraded” and “modernized.” Anyone visiting today will mainly see concrete and a dirty mess.

Last weekend I visited Klein Knip. There, too, the same pattern is visible. Large portions of the beach are occupied by empty beach chairs waiting to be rented out. Freely walking along the beach is no longer possible.

Apparently, previous experiences are neither evaluated nor learned from. Instead, it seems that the next beach is now in line for the same treatment.

Only a few years ago, before the pandemic, Caracas Bay was one of Curaçao’s least popular beaches. It was primarily a beach for residents. For families. For athletes. For people seeking peace and quiet. Those who went there did not need the commercial, fancy atmosphere of Jan Thiel Beach.

Caracas Bay does not need large-scale development. What the beach needs is proper maintenance. Clean it up. Maintain the parking areas. Remove the BBQ pits that are damaging the landscape.

But plans for a parking garage, a sports arena, and further construction in the area seem to be driven more by a one-sided vision of development than by any real love for the place itself.

I sincerely wonder who benefits from all of this. These appear to be plans conceived by administrators and policymakers who rarely visit the beach and do not understand its value to the local population.

Perhaps that also explains why this Town Hall Meeting is being organized right now.

Miguel Goede