SAFETY,
SECURITY,
TOURISM,
BUSINESS AND
MARKETING
CYANDRY MAMBRE AND TRACY WINTERS EVANS
Cyandry Mambre graduation.
Graduate in Bachelor of applied Science International business.
number one in the “World’s Top 50 Ports” by Cruise Insights magazine’s 2013 Autumn issue. Furthermore, over 15 years (from 2000
- 2014) cruise ship passengers and cruise calls increased 6% and
3.4%, respectively, on average, per year. This article demonstrates
how the subsector State of Safety and Security affects business.
Given the importance of this subsector, a survey was conducted
among cruise ship passengers and crew members in the months of
January to March 2015 (Croes et al., 2015) with the aim of estimating the economic impact of the subsector, the level of satisfaction,
and the intention to re-visit the island. The study, based on 897
respondents, revealed that each passenger spends $71.19 and each
crew member spends $100.38. Based on this, a calculation was
made with 583,994 passengers in 2013 and the result was that $41.6
million was contributed to our economy. Moreover, passengers and
crew members accounted for 8.1% of the total tourism receipts
Over the last 15 years, tourism spending has increased by an annual average of 4.5% in nominal
terms (Croes et al., 2015), In 2014 the spending
per tourist arrival was $925.5 and the previous
year, 2013, it was $911. That was an increase of
1.6%. In comparing 2014 with 2000, there was an
increase of $664.5 to $925 in spending per tourist
arrival, which was an increase of 39.3% (Croes et
al., 2015). This increase over time suggested that
Curaçao had a strong performance in the tourism
industry. Included in tourism spending is a subsector, which is the cruise ship business. Cruise
ship business has been blossoming in the past
few years. In the period 2012-2013 the amount of
cruise ship tourists rose by 41%. This growth was
caused directly by the increase in ports of call. In
2000 there were 219 ports of call and 290 in 2014.
Therefore, for the first time, Curaçao was ranked
benefiting the retail, restaurant, and transportation industries.
However, in 2014 the Over Seas Advisory Security
Council released a report entitled “Curaçao 2014
Crime and Safety Report” (Center, 2014). This
report made U.S. tourists traveling to Curaçao
aware of the overall crime and safety situation,
and gave advice to avoid becoming a victim of it.
This is important because the sense of safety and
security of the tourists can have an impact on our
economy. Perceptions of crime have a destructive
effect on tourism demand and on tourists’ travel
behavior. (George, 2010). According to the Central
Bank of Curaçao and Saint Maarten, in 2014 tourism contributed to 26% of our exports
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