CaribSeek Books | Tourism | Roots of our Future by Linda M. Rupert

XI - Tourism[1]

"To persons who are fond of travel no greater delight is conceivable than a trip to Curaçao... The sea voyage is one of the most delightful imaginable... The town presents a most picturesque, interesting and romantic appearance, and from its old Dutch style of architecture, its yellow-tinted houses of masonry, with red and brown tiled roofs and white coping, it would not require a great stretch of the imagination for one to fancy himself sailing into some quaint old Holland port."[2]

Punda's picturesque waterfort is one of the island's signature tourism images (CTDB).

Curaçao's excellent trade and shipping connections made the island a well known port of call in the region as early as the seventeenth century, long before modern day notions of leisure travel. The official welcome mat was put out to international visitors in 1675, when the States General of the Netherlands declared the island a free port, opening it to ships and individuals of all nations. This action, highly unusual for the times, drew many foreign traders and adventurers. When modern stayover leisure

tourism developed in the second half of the twentieth century, it followed w ell established historical pattern to welcoming outsiders. Not surprisingly, the island's tourism sector has always existed in close cooperation with its dynamic trade sector.

Willemstad has always been the hub of Curaçao's tourism. Until well into this century visitors found lodging only in the city center; most early cruise ships docked right in the bustling port of St. Anna Bay, alongside freighters carrying products from around the world. The picturesque Dutch colonial buildings lining the old merchant street of Handelskade, along the harbor entrance, have long been one of the island's signature attractions.

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Curaçao Chamber of Commerce & Industry