…MoU signed with Fundashon Bon Intenshon…
WILLEMSTAD- December 20, 2016 – Minister of Economic Development Mr. Eugene Rhuggenaath after taking note of the cancellation of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival 2017, reached out to Curaçao Tourism Development Foundation (CTDF) to look into possible ways to guarantee the continuation of the event, this resulted in CTDF, Curaçao Airport Holding (CAH) and Curaçao Investment & Export Promotion Agency (CINEX) signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fundashon Bon Intenshon (FBI) from 2018 for 5 years. The MoU entails the establishment of a task force with the purpose to lead the effort to secure structural funding from stakeholders and/or other third parties for the organization of major events amongst them CNSJF that will enable Curaçao to be positioned as the “Stage of the Caribbean” a powerful branding mechanism outlined in the Tourism Masterplan 2015-2020. Minister Rhuggenaath signed also on behalf of the Government of Curaçao. “It is important to keep this event for many years and bring in more of these kind of events to create the necessary economic activity for the Island of Curaçao” according to Minister Rhuggenaath.
The last survey done by the University of Central Florida in 2015 showed that the CNSJF had a direct and indirect economic impact of over US$ 15 million.
Also the study shows that the spending by international visitors of the CNSJF is over US$ 300 per day compared to just over US$ 100 per day by a regular tourist visiting the Island.
Also we can indicate that during the festival day’s arrivals at the airport are over 2000 passengers per day compared to around 1000 visitors on a regular day.
All these factors are important indicators that make it necessary to maintain the CNSJF as an iconic event for Curaçao.
Another great aspect of the CNSJF is the free concerts that create the unique platform for the international travelers to stay longer on the island and experience our local music, like the philharmonic orchestra performing songs of Doble Rand the tribute given to Macario Prudencia. In addition these concerts are another way for the visitors to mingle with the local community and experience our beautiful people hospitality.
CNSJF is a large and prestigious international musical festival being organized by FBI since the year 2010; artists from all over the world participate in the 3-day festival and people from different parts of the world attend this festival in Curaçao. Besides, CNSJF is a vital contributor to the tourism sector of Curaçao as well as to the economy of Curaçao as a whole. Reason why all the parties involved agreed that the CNSJF needs to continue for many years to come.
