Boycott Watch has been on the
cutting edge of reporting the economic problems in Aruba all stemming from the
boycott in support of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway. Today, true-crime
blogger extraordinaire Michelle
Simonsen sent us a tip, an article in the local Aruba newspaper Amigo.com
with the headline "Strike at The
Aruban." It's a headline we would have normally glossed over, and thanks to
Ms. Simonsen, we read the details. The newspaper reports that the Aruban hotel
has missed its payroll, and in response hotel employees held an in-lobby
protest. Had this been a single event we would have ignored it, but the same
report says the hotel had to close its Sales & Marketing department earlier
this year, meaning the hotel had low sales long before the U.S. economic
troubles so the Arubans cannot blame the U.S. economy for their woes. The Aruba
government is blaming their woes on the drop In the U.S. economy, but if sales
and marketing departments close because of long-term drop in sales, the hotel
is not just expecting to regain lost business. Without sales there is no profit
so the longer such departments remain closed, the harder it will be for those
hotels to turn a profit, and apparently those hotels are just not expecting
long-term and large profits.
In our most recent
report, Aruba had blamed the U.S. economy for low tourism, but Boycott Watch
had hands-on reporting showing Americans who were on cruise ships which docked
in Aruba were purposely not getting off the boat and those who did spent little
or no money on the Island in support of the boycott inspired by the
disappearance of Natalee Holloway.
Boycott Watch
also reported how Aruba recently had to borrow one sixth of their GDP to stay
afloat this year, a clear indication that tourism, the primary industry in
Aruba, was in trouble. Further indicating the level of trouble for the hotel
and tourism business is the fact that the Aruban Hotel has a large casino,
which is just a cash cow, and the lack of revenue from that part of the casino
operation speaks volumes about the nation is doing financially.
From a tourist standpoint, there are many bargain
deals for travel packages to Aruba, and the low costs indicate a lack of
current demand as we approach the Spring Break sales season, and that's not a
good sign for Aruba. It tells us hotels in Aruba are fighting for every tourist
dollar they can get, even taking a small loss on the hotel room while hoping to
make it all up in casino and food service revenue. This is not a good time to
go to Aruba because you may find your hotel room reservation to be void because
the hotel you paid for in a package may be closed when you get there. It's a
gamble, so if you do go, make sure you have plenty of cash and credit on hand
in case you need to suddenly change hotels. From a business standpoint,
international investors may find some bargains, but Aruba is a risky investment
considering the fact that Americans no longer want to go there and because the
Aruba government has had to borrow large sums of money, do they may have to cut
back on basic services. |
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