Student Information

Until 1989, a government service was in charge of activities in the area of tourism. On the 23rd of January 1989, the then government decided to take tourism management out of the political realm, and incorporated it in a specialized foundation called Curaçao Tourism Development Foundation (CTDF). The reason was that the government was aware of the importance of tourism for the development of the island’s economy. CTDF is its statutory name, Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) its commercial name.

CTB is governed by a board, made up by representatives of the government, the private sector, and also of labor unions directly and indirectly involved in tourism in Curaçao. The president of the board is named by the Board of Ministers. 

The central office of CTB is situated in Curaçao. There are offices in the Netherlands and the United States, as well.

On October 1, 2024, the Tourism Office celebrates its 35-year existence.

The vision of the Curaçao Tourist Board is to position Curaçao as the premier Caribbean destination, known for the diversity of its tourism offerings, thereby strengthening the linkage between tourism and other sectors of the economy with the view to achieve sustainable development and to provide a high quality of life for local citizens.

Its mission is to create distinctive tourism experiences and to achieve sustained growth in arrivals as well as increased visitor expenditure over the next five years.

1. Designing and implementing marketing/promotional and awareness programs.
2. Supporting and initiating initiatives to improve tourist experiences.
3. Advising the government on the implementation of tourism policy.
4. Collecting and reporting data and highlighting trends.

1. Spearheading branding and marketing campaigns
2. Marketing intelligence: providing information, market scans by country, profiles of tourist and target groups, customer journeys, competitor evaluation/analysis.
3. Attracting and retaining airlift and cruise lines for tourism development.

• Integrity
• Responsibility
• Empathy
• Teamwork
• Trust
• Flexibility
• Creativity

At the Tourism Office you can get information related to tourism. Most tourists approach the Tourism Office to get information about Curaçao and advice on places they can visit, depending on their personal interests. Among other things, at the Tourism Office you can get flyers on tourist attractions, restaurants, tours, hotels, and other accommodation venues, maps of Curacao, museums, and much more information.

Tourists can also approach the Tourism Office if they have a complaint. The complaint may be related to an unpleasant experience, or tips on how to improve the service at an attraction they visited, or at an accommodation where they stayed. In such cases, the Tourism Office in its turn will accept the complaint or the claim, and work on “damage control”, depending on the gravity of the case.

“Damage control” implies that CTB will give the tourist a positive experience to help them forget the negative one. If the situation is very bad, the Tourism Police (Politur) will deal with it, together with the police and the agency for victim support.

The Tourism Office is a small organization with just 48 employees, which include 2 directors, managers, coordinators, officers, and part-timers. The managers among others are in charge of the coordinators, who help give guidance to the officers. Officers are all employees that are neither managers nor coordinators.

While most employees are based in Curaçao, some of them are based in focus regions such as the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States. CTB also works with representatives in different focus regions.

1. The Product Department
   The Product Department is in charge of the management, maintenance, wellbeing and development of the tourism product of Curaçao. In order to achieve all this, the department has the following responsibilities: 

• • Awareness: promoting awareness in the community of Curaçao on the importance of Tourism;
  • Education: promoting Tourism as a subject in Primary Schools and Special Schools;
  • Product development: supporting the development of new projects and initiatives on behalf of tourism; maintenance, development, and conservation of tourist areas; guaranteeing quality by means of an audit program emphasizing Alternative Accommodation and Diving Schools, and promoting sustainability within the industry.
  • Security: guaranteeing the safety of visitors and developing an efficient and effective crisis strategy, in collaboration with other government entities and partners in the private sector, so as to mitigate potential damage.

2. Finance Department
   The Finance Department administers all the financial affairs of the entire Tourism Office. They are also in charge of the payment of stakeholders or businesses that provide service to CTB.
3. Human Resource Department
   The Human Resource Department is in charge of all matters related to employees of the Tourism Office; for instance, salaries, holidays, career development, etc.
4. Department of Communications
   This department is mainly in charge of keeping the community and local stakeholders informed on:

1. 1. promotional activities of CTB on focus markets.
   2. CTB activities in the area of development of the tourism product.
   3. the value of the tourism industry for the Curaçao economy.
   4. activites in the area of local tourism awareness. 

The information targeting the community and local stakeholders is distributed in newspapers, on television, on the radio and via social media by making use of among others press conferences, press releases, radio and TV ads, informative online bulletins, and end-of-year programs. The Department of Communication also assists other CTB departments with the design of invitations, announcements, and reports. 

5. Facility Department
   This department is also in charge of keeping the building in order; both the inside and outside areas, so employees can be comfortable. They are also in charge of all facilities inside the Tourism Office building; for instance chairs, tables, and office equipment, as well as all office supplies, etc. Moreover, they do the maintenance of all technological facilities such as computers, laptops, screens, etc. Besides, they assist different departments in the areas of organizing events, f&b, venues, audiovisual equipment, etc.
6. Department of “Business Intelligence”
   This is the department in charge of all the numbers concerning tourism. The department provides information on the numbers of tourists visiting the island, the places where they stay, the numbers of arrivals by plane or by ship, and even on the amounts of money that tourists spend from the moment they arrive in Curaçao. These data insights also serve as a basis for decision-making on continuing to promote tourism in the island.
7. Department for the Development of Strategy and Planning
   This department is mainly responsible for coordinating strategies and plans for the development of tourism and monitoring their implementation. Where necessary, providing assistance and advice to partners in the industry of tourism, both in the private and the public sector.
8. Department of Cruise and Yachting
   This department shares the responsibility for the growth of the number of visitors in the sector of cruise and yachting, with the aim of maintaining or increasing the current number of calls, thus increasing the on-island expenditure per passenger. They do this by means of “networking”, building relationships with cruise lines and wholesalers specialized in cruises, making sales calls, and providing data for information management (statistics).
9. Internal Audits Department
   The mission of Internal Audits is to assist management in maintaining adequate, efficient and effective systems for continuous improvement in quality and in accomplishing its objectives, by bringing a systematic and disciplined approach for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of governance, risk management, and internal control inside the organization.
10. Department of Legal Affairs
    This department consists of a legal counselor who makes sure that all legal affairs of the Tourist Board are in order.
11. Department of Marketing
    This department among others is in charge of marketing in the different focus regions, through traditional marketing and public and digital relations. Besides all this, the department also has a Destination Services team in charge of creating and coordinating press itineraries, FAM trips, and influencers.
12. Regional Teams
    CTB has 3 teams, one for each region, namely:

1. 1. Europe (the main focus being on the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium).
   2. North America (The US and Canada).
   3. South America and the Caribbean (the main focus being on Colombia, Brazil, Surinam, Aruba, and Trinidad & Tobago).

 Each regional manager is in charge of creating awareness about Curaçao, with the aim of motivating sales in their respective regions, together with their partners. This implies working together with tour operators, travel agencies and airlines, as well as the local sector regarding visits to tourism fairs. Besides all this, each regional manager is in charge of the development of MICE tourism (Meetings, incentives, conferences & exhibitions), with the aim of bringing large groups of people together in Curaçao for different types of events, which also contributes to economic growth in Curaçao, and serves to enhance tourism.

The Tourism Office has several stakeholders in Curaçao, such as:

• The Ministry of Economic Development (MEO)
• Curaçao Hospitality And Tourism Association (CHATA)
• Curaçao Apartments and Small Hotels Association (CASHA)
• Curaçao Restaurant Association (CRA)
• The Royal Hospitality Association of the Netherlands (KHN) department of Curaçao
• Curaçao International Airport
• Curaçao Airport Holding (CAH)
• Tourism Police (Politur)
• Curaçao Ports Authority (CPA)

CTB is a tourism organization assigned by the Government of Curaçao to promote and develop the tourist product of Curaçao.

The Curaçao Hospitality & Tourism Association (CHATA) is an association that represents the private sector, for instance hotels, car rentals, etc. In its turn, CHATA works for the benefit of its associates.

Curaçao Apartments & Small Hotels Association (CASHA) is an association that represents the private sector, mainly apartments, small accommodations, car rentals, etc. CASHA is similar to CHATA, except that CASHA solely manages and focuses on small accommodations and tourism companies.

Through CHATA, the Tourism Office can have direct access to the private sectors, namely those that are CHATA members, and contact them. The Tourism Office and CHATA mostly work together on joint projects, promotions, and courses, for reaching goals that benefit the tourism sector. Hence, this is how they complement each other.

You can explore current internship opportunities and job vacancies at the Curaçao Tourist Board by visiting our career page.