KRALENDIJK – The Bonaire Hotel & Tourism Association (BONHATA) is weighing in on the debate about the future of tourism on Bonaire. The industry organization argues that the island does have a tourism vision, but lacks a coherent economic implementation plan to put that vision into practice. In doing so, BONHATA joins the broader discussion on topics such as air connectivity, destination marketing, the tourist tax, and the island’s economic direction.
The call was prompted by the preliminary tourism figures for July 2026. According to Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB), the island welcomed 15,984 stay-over tourists that month, 669 fewer than in July of the previous year. The North American market once again showed a notable decline. The number of visitors from the United States fell by 11.4 percent, while Canada, Curaçao, and the Netherlands also delivered fewer visitors than a year earlier.
According to BONHATA, these figures underscore that while the Strategic Tourism Master Plan 2017–2027 focuses on so-called high-value tourism — where the economic value per visitor, rather than visitor numbers, is central — a concrete economic implementation plan is still missing. The organization questions what measures are being taken to strengthen air links, how supply and accommodation capacity can be better aligned, and how revenue from the tourist tax is being used to strengthen the tourism economy.
The industry organization points to the economic importance of tourism for Bonaire. Based on the 2025 economic impact study, BONHATA states that tourism accounts for approximately half of gross domestic product, 53 percent of employment, and 44 percent of local tax revenues. According to the organization, the decline in visitors from the key source markets in July, calculated on the basis of average spending per visitor, represents nearly two million dollars in potential lost direct spending.
BONHATA uses this calculation to illustrate the economic consequences that a sustained decline in key markets could have. The industry organization also notes that fewer visitors could ultimately affect the revenues of businesses in the tourism sector as well as government income.
Recommendations
To reverse the trend, BONHATA makes four recommendations. The organization calls for a coherent economic implementation plan for tourism, restoration of air connections with North America, improved accessibility between Curaçao and Bonaire, and greater transparency regarding the use of tourist tax revenues.
According to BONHATA, the debate is ultimately not about attracting as many visitors as possible, but about strengthening the economic value that tourism delivers to Bonaire.
