A flurry of hotel developments and expanded flights to Curacao from the U.S. signal that "travel is back, stronger than ever," according to Paul Pennicook, CEO of the Curacao Tourist Board.

He cited the increase in stayover arrival numbers to Curacao in July, which totaled more than 34,000 visitor and was  92% of the pre-pandemic July 2019 arrivals, according to Pennicook.

"We're looking forward to continuing to grow this inbound traffic, especially as more globally recognized hospitality brands like Sandals, Curio by Hilton, Dreams and Wyndham plant their flags on the island and iconic properties like Marriott and Renaissance present travelers with newly renovated offerings," Pennicook said.

Hotel developments on Curacao

The lineup of new hotel developments includes:

Sandals Royal Curacao, a transformation of the former Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort, is set to open on April 14.

Kunuku Aqua Resort became part of the Trademark Collection by Wyndham portfolio last May. The family-friendly resort with an onsite water park will offer 24 apartments along with 189 guestrooms and plans to complete upgrades in 2022.

Mangrove Beach Corendon Curacao Resort is the newest property to join the Curio Collection by Hilton portfolio. The all-inclusive resort will re-establish Hilton's presence on the island (in 2019 the former Hilton Curacao converted to a Dreams resort).

Renovations and openings that took place in late 2019 and early 2020 include the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort, Dreams Curacao Resort, Spa and Casino and the Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino.

Flights to Curacao

Catering to these resort developments and the travel influx, airlift to Curacao is back in full swing.

American flies daily from Miami and will add a second flight every Saturday from Nov. 6 to Dec. 11 with plans to operate a second daily flight starting Dec. 16. JetBlue currently offers twice-weekly flights from New York JFK.

Nonstop flights from Newark on United are set to resume on a weekly basis from Nov. 6 while the weekly nonstop from Charlotte begins Saturday operations on Dec. 4.

Flights will resume from Canada this fall on Air Canada and WestJet.

"We are proud of the growth of Curacao, which further supports our main objective to increase the flow of North American travel to the destination. We're confident we will see demand grow, and Curacao looks forward to welcoming that growth," Pennicook said.

Curacao entry requirements

Curacao entry regulations, updated Aug. 27, call for all visitors from high-risk countries (including the U.S.) to complete the  Digital Immigration Card online before departure, digitally fill out the Passenger Locator Card within 48 hours of departure, show proof and upload a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of departure  and take an antigen test at a local laboratory on the third day of their stay.

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