Aruba News - Winter Edition 2015

All the latest from the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, including new hotel plans, honours for green initiatives and top people making news – plus key events coming up for 2015!
 
Jan. 15, 2015 - PRLog -- WHAT’S NEW
Industry salutes Aruba’s sustainable tourism drive

Aruba’s drive to become one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations has been recognised by a leading international organisation.

The island is named as one of the nominees in the World Legacy Awards, a partnership between the National Geographic Society and ITB Berlin, the travel industry’s leading international exhibition.

The awards were inaugurated to showcase the leading travel companies and organisations that are striving the sustainable tourism transformation of the industry, based on National Geographic’s work to inspire people to care about the planet.

More than 150 World Legacy Awards were received, representing 56 countries and six continents and Aruba is one of 15 finalists in five award categories. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony during ITB in Berlin in March.

Aruba has been named a finalist in the destination leadership category for setting an example in what is possible to combat global climate change. The island has invested heavily in alternative energy, including extensive wind and solar systems now in place, with the aim of becoming the world’s first country to operate 100 per cent fossil-free-fuel by 2020. The awards judges have added: ‘Aruba’s smart growth model also encourages “walkable destinations” to reduce reliance on cars”.’

Costas Christ, chairman of National Geographic World Legacy Awards, explained: ‘Sustainable tourism is evolving from a niche trend to a true global transformation of how the travel and tourism industry operates and what impacts it has on the people and places that travellers visit. The World Legacy Award are about celebrating that transformation, pushing it to the cutting edge of leadership today.’

It’s Carnival time!
The biggest event in Aruba’s calendar is underway, with the colour and rhythm of Carnival in full swing.
The most spectacular party of the year, the 61st Carnival, got underway this month (January) and will reach a crescendo on February 15 with a Grand Parade in island capital Oranjestad.
This month-long celebration consists of ‘jump-ups’ (street parties), amazing parades and musical events. Dazzling costumes and foot-stomping music play a central role in events, ranging from the election of the Carnival Queen to the grand parades, which wind their noisy and tuneful way through the streets of Oranjestad and second city San Nicolas.

Carnival also includes competitions between participants – great fun for the audiences. These include contests for road marches and calypsos and best ‘tumba’ song of the season. Tumba is a Latin music genre of the Netherlands Antilles islands, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, where unlike calypso and road march songs, tumbas are played year-round.
www.carnavalaruba.net

HOTEL NEWS
Spanish hotel giant Grupo Pinero has announced plans to open a resort on Aruba.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed which could lead to the company developing a 950-room property on a seafront location close to San Nicolas, Aruba’s second city in the south of the island.

The property would be part of the company’s Don Pablo Collection with a provisional opening date of 2016. It would operate under the Bahia Principe brand and include 908 junior suites and 42 suites, together with a theatre, casino, gym, spa, sports courts and several restaurants.
www.bahiaprinciperesidences.com

Caribbean’s latest condo project
Aruba has been chosen as the location for the Caribbean’s latest condominium project, being spearheaded by the PalmAruba Group.

The eight-storey Las Olas Residences will be located between Palm Beach and Eagle Beach, with construction due to start late this year. Completion is scheduled for early 2017. The design is the brainchild of Florida-based Adache Group Architects and the property will have 48 luxury units, each with a 360-degree view. It will also include an infinity pool, fitness centre, golf-cart charge stations and a bird-watching tower overlooking the nearby bird sanctuary.
http://www.palmaruba.com/en

Luxury villa opens
Villa Royale, one of the most luxurious villas on Aruba, has opened, providing a grand setting for weddings or other special events.

The eight-bedroom mansion, with its own gardens, can comfortably accommodate 25 guests in private luxury. Close to The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the Kamay Hills, the property has a large pool, lounge, bar, hot jacuzzi and underground wine cellar.

New activities at Radisson Aruba
New tastes and activities are scheduled for visitors to Radisson Aruba Resort.

The winter programme for its established Discover programme includes new weekly activities, such as archery, and a new Rum and Relax rum-tasting with tapas, cigar corner and live reggae. This is available every Thursday from 20.00 to 23.00.

Additional Discover Your Core activities include morning walks, beach runs and yoga, operating until June 20.
www.radisson.com/palm-beach-hotel-aw/aruaruba

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Aruba PM honoured
Aruba’s charismatic prime minister Mike Eman has been named as one of the Caribbean’s most interesting people of 2014.

The region’s leading publication, Caribbean Journal, recently reviewed the newsmakers of the year, including artists, influencers, politicians and those doing notable work around the world.

Prime Minister Eman, a noted champion of the island’s tourism industry, was among those named, partly for a bold stand he took for what was considered interference by The Netherlands in Aruba affairs and also his leadership on green energy, leading the drive to make Aruba fossil-fuel-free by 2020.
www.caribjournal.com/2014/12/30/the-caribbeans-25-most-interesting-people-for-2014/17/#movescroll

Simply the best
Aruba is in the running for a top award as a leading international tourism destination.

The island has been nominated for the Travel & Leisure 2015 World’s Best Awards in the Islands- Caribbean category. Voting runs until March 2 and the results will be announced in the August edition of the magazine.
http://lworldsbest.wylei.com

Bucuti owner honoured
One of Aruba’s leading hoteliers has been honoured for his eco-friendly policies.

Ewald Biemans, owner of the Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts has earned the title Green Hotelier of the Year in Caribbean Journal’s 2014 Caribbean Travel Awards. This recognises his leadership in eco-friendly practices and sustainability, to which he has been committed since opening the property in 1987.

Biemans has led the resort to earning the global recognition of more than two dozen environmental awards and certifications. He has been honoured both locally and internationally for his environmental preservation work. Under his guidance, Bucuti has been able to achieve 15 consecutive years of Green Globe certification and was the first hotel in the Americas to earn ISO 14001 environmental certification, which it has retained every year since 2003.

Contact
Joanna Walding
***@aruba.com
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