The Autentico event served as a valuable platform for experiential learning, with the support of the EPI Hospitality & Tourism Unit. Students from the Hospitality Management program, particularly those in the Event Management class, played a key role, with their participation contributing directly to their academic grades. Culinary Arts students also collaborated closely with local and international chefs during the cooking classes, gaining practical, hands-on experience.

Over the two days, more than 60 EPI students and 3 faculty members actively participated in various capacities. They assisted with guest experience, wayfinding, hospitality desk operations, entertainment coordination, vendors support, cooking and mixology classes, and data collection.

For the first time this year, schools were invited to participate as vendors during The Pavilion, with EPB Oranjestad and EPB San Nicolas proudly taking part. Under the guidance of their teachers, students prepared all the food offered at their booths. The feedback from instructors was overwhelmingly positive, and we’re thrilled to share that both school booths sold out on both nights.

Their dedicated contributions were essential to the event’s success. This initiative highlights the Aruba Tourism Authority’s commitment to supporting the development of future professionals in the culinary and hospitality fields, reinforcing our broader strategy of fostering talent and practical skills to enhance Aruba’s vibrant tourism industry.

Aruba experienced a fantastic weekend, and God was good, she listened to prayers — it did not rain on Autentico Culinary Festival. What we got was perfect weather for a top-notch street event, downtown Oranjestad.

Wilhelminastraat residents sitting in the evening in front of their humble homes with their elderly and their dogs on rickety chairs added a unique authentic flavor to the happening.

Hundreds of people worked very hard on a million moving festival parts and it all fell into place, seamlessly, on Saturday and Sunday evening, with the goal of presenting Aruba as an elevated culinary destination.

That would help us reduce the number of thrill-seekers, who leave nature destruction in their wake. As an island, we would benefit from having less adventurous activities, and more culinary experiences. It will help us attract a demographic of culinary explorers, prepared to shell out top dollars for our gastronomy.

To quote an industry insider: It is a process, to gradually achieve a stronger positioning for Aruba in the culinary scene. The focus moving forward shall include among others continuing to build the base of tourists visiting the event.

Walking up and down Wilhelminastraat, Columbustraat and Plaza Nicky Habibe, up main street to Ooststraat and the Tram stop, visitors found amazing food at every turn, in a magical Oranjestad-by-night ambiance, enchanting music, picnic areas, sitting corners, and places of interest such as the culinary history of Aruba and the cooking & mixology classes, all charming ideas, perfectly executed.

Elements restaurant’s Mediterranean-inspired Shrimp & Rocoto Ceviche in collaboration with Peruvian/International chef Jaime Pesaque received oodles of compliments. The chef brought the rocoto peppers along with him from Peru. Elements restaurant was just named #1 in the Caribbean by Trip Advisor and compliments are due.

Terra by the recently set up American Chef Jeremy Ford served the best charred Caribbean Jerk Carrots under the sun.

We met Frank Kelly, Taki Aruba, at the Pepe Margo spirit aging depo, the place was set up for mixology classes, with three different master mixers, at different times. The spirit aging depo, next to Taste my Aruba restaurant was the perfect backdrop for a cocktail making class.

I attended chef Sebastian Cechet Cooking Class for a short while, he patiently taught a large group of festival goers how to prepare a Tropical Burrata with Passion Fruit and Basil Oil. Each participant was presented with all ingredients, beautifully packaged.

The press lounge on the top floor terrace of the Med School building, across the park, offered a full bar set up by Apotheek. We loved the Aloe Fizz, and bartender Tristan who looks like Harry Potter. Down on the street Marksonn Maduro reported that Hoya Lush served almost one-thousand Famous Hoya Mojitos and Aperol Spritzes during the festival.

The Brenchie Park was a pastoral location for festival goers to hang out and enjoy people watching. It was also a hit last year.

Kudo’s to Olivia’s restaurant for letting me wash my hands and for transforming the restaurant into a Grilled Beef Slider assembly line. They had a big crowd of hungry patrons gathered at their windows.

Aloe Restaurant by EPB students offered two standout items, Island Soul Tartlet made of funchi, and Pan Bollo Ice Cream, pairing innovation and tradition. Kudos to teacher Orlin Geerman and his crew.

Chef Urvin Croes collaborated with Michelin-starred Dutch chef Tim Golsteijn to prepare 1,000 layered crispy potatoes, with sambal, gurkins and a special heritage cheese. Just crazily sinful-good.

Caya restaurant featured Pastelerias, four of the restaurant’s most popular desserts.

GoCultura foundation developed a series of panels depicting the culinary evolution of the island’s gastronomy, tracing our diet from stone age, 1450 AD through the European Age of Discovery, and later Dutch colonialism, and early industrialism, with the opening of the Lago refinery. Finally the influence of America visitors. Each era leaving its mark on the way we eat and who we are. The history of the island’s sabor criyoyo was researched and narrated by Edjean Semeleer. If you had picked up the wall phone’s receiver, a sweet voice would have shared the recipe for Cabrito Stoba, with you.

One of the most popular items was the Cabrito Shoarma by EPB San Nicolas. It came packed with veggies in a homemade fluffy pocket with three different sauces and garnishes. Next year, serve it on a bigger plate and arm diners with plenty of napkins. It was delicious.

A very special collaboration between T2Pan and celebrity Italian American chef Christian Petroni introduced us to a prosciutto wrapped sesame breadstick, served with Parmigiano Reggiano and pickled veggies. That was a fantastic treat. I got an Oro Autentico to go, a flaky cashew paste filled croissant, and lost it somewhere along the route together with my precious Autentico, collector’s item fan. Alas.

On the main street the overhead, hanging frying pan display was brilliant and so playful, by Print Master, a super cool idea. And the charming water cart was much needed, a great feature.

What else?? The Tram Stop decorated with an abundance of Bougainvillea flowers was a dazzling photo opportunity spot, by Rosetti’s Perfect Team Event Planners.

Sunday night, I got to Lima Bistro, Ever Restaurant & Azar, late…. they were closed, all their goodies sold out, two nights in a row.

Akira Back’s Wagyu Tacos in wonton shells and Eskama’s Lobster Ravioli were both a hit.

The Ritz Carlton’s Nouri Sushi, Casa Nona Grilled Octopus and the agnolotti in truffle sauce, flew off the counter!

Great music with Chriss Kross, on the square, El Prove, various DJs and more.

In preparation for next year’s Autentico weekend I must practice walking with a drink in my hand, while greeting friends, no splashing, no spilling. I was a total failure in that aspect this year, drenching myself with whatever I was sipping.

#autenticoculinaryfestival #autenticoaruba

AHATA’s September report out last week sounded a bit alarmed: Hotel occupancy down 9.8% year-over-year, to 63%. Year-to-date (YTD) occupancy down 7.1% to 77%.

We grew accustomed to bigger numbers.

Crisis?

Not exactly, by looking at the data. The number of hotel rooms is up 11.4% this year—an average of 6,129 rooms YTD, and already 6,344 in September. At the same time, the average daily rate (ADR) per hotel room rose 11.5%. So yes, occupancy slipped, because capacity grew faster than demand. With higher room rates, hotels are likely generating more total revenue than last year despite lower occupancies.

ATA’s data backs that up. Aruba welcomed 1.13 million visitors YTD, up 4.8%. Cruise arrivals were gratefully flat (+0.2%). Where did those extra visitors stay?

22% in “regular” hotels

13% in all-inclusives

27% in timeshares

And a whopping 39% in “other” accommodations—Airbnbs, officially called Short Term Vacation Rentals, STVR, private apartments and homes.

That “other” category grew 10%—four times faster than hotels. From AHATA’s point of view, short-term vacation rentals are clearly eating their lunch. But from the visitor’s perspective, the shift makes sense.

Two points explain it:

Price similarity – almost: Hotels average $407 a night YTD. Aruba has really upped its STVR game the last few years; short-term vacation rentals average an ADR around $300 – surprisingly close to the hotel ADR. Yes, STVRs often house more guests, but they contribute to the economy in more ways, with more eating in local restaurants, renting cars, hiring private chefs, and shopping at supermarkets (not to mention that, unlike the big hotel chains, most of the moneys stay on the island).

Visitor values: A recent ATA survey shows 96% of travelers value responsible tourism, 59% want local and cultural engagement, and 56% prefer locally owned stays. Short-term vacation rentals deliver exactly that kind of authenticity.

Yes, the STVR boom has created a tremendous housing shortage and encourages tax leakage, but those are two separate issues, for a different blogs. The current hotel occupancy drop is not a collapse of tourism—it is a shift in where visitors choose to stay.

For the future what we must look out for:

Overbuilding: Government-approved hotel expansions, this year alone, three major properties –added hundreds of rooms faster than demand could absorb them. While the hotels are visible, the dozens and dozens of condominiums and apartment building projects, fly undetected under the radar. We do not know how many of them are in the pipeline.

Evolving preferences: A growing segment of travelers are chasing authenticity, not uniform luxury, and the short-term vacation rental market is fulfilling that need.

Bottom line: Aruba’s tourism engine is healthy. What’s faltering is the balance between traditional hotels and the new travel economy. Thus the sky is not falling, the drop in hotel occupancies is a result of overexpansion colliding with changing visitor tastes.

The question now is not how to stop the shift, but how to adapt to it for the benefit of all on the island. This will take political courage, management, and leadership intangible assets historically in short supply on our baranca stima.

 The island’s most popular golf tournament, unfolded on the award-winning Tierra Del Sol Golf Course, which recently reopened after an extensive makeover and total reconstruction. The annual tournament, organized here for the seventeenth time, is a fund raiser supporting community causes. It is offered by Arion Wine Company in conjunction with California’s Wente Vineyards, and a number of generous local sponsors.

For the 2025 edition, the tournament signed up 84 players, for a fun two-person scramble format. The funds collected were earmarked for Plan di Mayor, a foundation prioritizing child well-being, helping parents navigate the intricacies of separation or divorce. The foundation provides compassionate, child-focused guidance to co-parenting, in compliance with the law.

Arion Wine Company dedicated 100% of the proceeds to the foundation and proudly handed over a cheque to Plan di Mayor with a donation amount of AWG 20,000, raised entirely at the Wente Vineyard Charity Golf Tournament.

Plan di Mayor representative Michelemira Arends enjoyed the honor of collecting the cheque and was genuinely surprised and moved, as the amount had not been disclosed before. It was an emotional and meaningful moment for all involved.

This generous donation was made possible thanks to the support of amazing sponsors and the enthusiastic participation of all the players who signed up for the tournament. A special thank you goes out to Papiamento Restaurant, who contributed a significant portion of the total donation. Arion Wine Company did not deduct any costs related to organizing the tournament, every florin raised went directly to the cause.

A heartfelt thank you to the Arion Wine Company and H&H Fine Wine and Spirits teams, whose dedication and hard work made the event and donation possible.

A note of gratitude to the following sponsors for their contributions: Arion Wine Company, Wente Vineyards, Aruba Bank, Builders’ Windows and Doors, Plus Accountants, ASD, Royal Aruba Aloe, Aruba Airport, Sotheby’s Real Estate, Robertson Fire, Setar, Safecom, Complete Logistics, H&H Fine Wine and Spirits, Happy Insurance, Tropical Bottling Company, Papiamento Restaurant, Bright Bakery, ACC (Aruba climate control), ProNova, and IberoStar Hotels and Resorts. 

It’s the month to switch over to Botica di Servicio!

As every year, all patients have the opportunity to switch pharmacies twice a year—in April and October.

During the entire month of October, all patients can make the switch to Botica di Servicio, where every new member will receive a small gift and the chance to participate in various raffles, including a trip for two to Colombia, a 65-inch TV, 20,000 Fun Miles, and more!

For many years, Botica di Servicio has remained committed to its main goal: providing the Aruban community with exceptional service in the field of health care.

All Botica di Servicio members enjoy different benefits, including the convenience of picking up prescriptions at any of the four locations and receiving a 10% discount on every purchase, just to name a few.

Visit any of the four Botica di Servicio locations and let the team assist you in completing your pharmacy change before October 31st to receive a gift as a token of appreciation and to participate in the grand prize raffles.

You can also make the switch online at www.boticadiservicio.com by filling out the online form.

Make the switch before October 31st and enjoy everything Botica di Servicio has to offer!