A press release by Oranjestad Investment Group, OIG, stated this week that: One Year After Presenting Revitalization Plan, OIG Urges Government to Take Urgent Action for Downtown Oranjestad.

Meaning we have an opportunity, investors are enthusiastic about Oranjestad’s urban revival, yet the government is hibernating, taking forever to issue permits and do what it is supposed to do: Ease and support private sector initiatives.

The main hurdle is an expired ROPV, Aruba’s spatial and development plan. The Ruimtelijk ontwikkelingsplan met voorschriften, ROPV, was updated in 2021, but the landscape has changed since then, and by law, it must be updated every few years. For example: That 2021 version limits development in Oranjestad to boutique properties of 50 rooms; it limits the height of buildings and the number of floors, and limits commercial use of the heart of town, aiming at creating “attractive residential, living, and working areas.”

All stakeholders agree on the vision, yet progress is slow, and some developers handle the sluggish pace better that others.

Some say nothing is happening.

Others ask us to look closely because there is a lot happening, but the enormity of project is such that we don’t immediately realize improvement.

A unique project is under construction at Alba Quarters. The old Botica Aruba, the two Brenchie’s corner buildings plus a park, and the student apartments by FCCA, are a reality. The Harbor House makeover is almost complete, including a promenade with stores and restaurants. Alas, they never managed to convince the harbor to open the back gate! Royal Plaza is happening right as we speak. Bodega Papiamento, Distillery Pepe Margo, Italy to the World, the Compra Bakery on Wilhelminastraat, Olivia and Wilhelmina Restaurants, the private residence next to Que Pasa, Casa Rosada, Meta Corp Headquarters, Anna Catharina and its cluster of shops including a Pizzeria, all these are finished projects. A great number of buildings have been bought by local investors waiting their turn to be saved from oblivion: The Nikki Habibe building, La Linda’s parking Lot, La Linda at the head of the main street facing the square, the old butcher shop, the building whose name I forgot adjacent to Mango, the Ennia building and Spritzer and Fuhrman. The Aruba Trading Building, already offers studio apartments on top. An apartment complex for 60 plussers is on the drawing board, and Ambiance, by Susanita La Bella is just one of her projects, not to forget the lovely Aruba Experience Café.

The Minister of Finance and Economy Geoffrey Wever started moving on his vision for a new Oranjestad during his time on the Wever-Croes II cabinet. There were already studio apartments and redesigned and modernized spaces for rent on the main street. He helped create the Wilheminastraat Investment Group, WIG, which morphed into Oranjestad Investment Group, OIG. He encouraged the creation of OBIZ, the Oranjestad Business Improvement Zone.

The vision is clear, everyone agrees, the ministers, the business community, only the government employees in charge of moving the paperwork along ho-hum and refuse to get out of the way.

So what’s missing I asked. Leadership was the answer, a clear and decisive push, to get the show on the road.

I talked to a number of developers and investors they all agree, instead of the government begging them to invest, they are begging the government to issue permits, before they lose steam.

From the OIG press release: Over the past year, government representatives have met with OIG, toured various sites in the city center, and signed a Letter of Intent committing to work together on revitalizing Aruba’s capital. While these steps are viewed positively, OIG says many projects stay stalled because government action and approvals have not materialized.

Meanwhile, private investors continue to commit significant resources, including buying properties, securing financing, preparing architectural and engineering plans, and developing commercial proposals. However, many are increasingly concerned about ongoing delays and uncertainty surrounding implementation.

OIG stresses that revitalizing downtown Oranjestad is about much more than real estate. It would create jobs, strengthen local businesses, improve public safety, and stimulate economic activity that helps the entire island.

The organization is calling for clearer direction, better coordination among government departments, and practical measures to accelerate project implementation. It warns that every month of delay increases costs, discourages investment, and risks losing momentum built over several years.

OIG reaffirmed its commitment to working constructively with the government, business owners, and the community to transform downtown Oranjestad into a vibrant destination where residents, entrepreneurs, investors, and visitors can live, work, invest, and enjoy the unique character of Aruba’s capital.

Last week we got an email from CUA, Comerciantenan Uni Aruba, explaining to members that CUA decided to postpone the planned internal members’ poll regarding the proposed HOFA framework, because the Prime Minister has publicly stated that Aruba intends to renegotiate with the Netherlands in an effort to secure better terms for the proposed HOFA framework. As these negotiations may result in changes to the proposal, CUA believe it is in the best interest of its members to wait until there is greater clarity before asking them to express their position.

I admit, I do not follow every word uttered by every politician on the island but in this case, I have not personally heard of any such plan of the Prime Minister to attempt to negotiate the HOPA proposal – as you know a Kingdom consensus law, for financial supervision.

That tactic of so-called renegotiating was a much-used trick of the previous Prime Minister as she often kicked cans further and further down the road hoping the next government will be obliged to deal with issues which threatened her image within the MEP party.

And the can traveled. It landed in the third Eman cabinet’s court.

The HOFA proposal will be greatly beneficial to Aruba BUT it has been under vicious attack from the opposition, and even from within the AVP party, a certain member of parliament made it known that he is against.

If he is joined by another member of parliament, sharing his displeasure, HOFA will be off the table.

If off the table, our financial situation will deteriorate.

But no one cares, because tourism is booming, people are busy working their three jobs, raising kids, paying bills, they have no time to spare thinking about the country’s balance sheet.

Just for the record: There is no alternative proposal. And parliament must discuss the current proposal, at the end of its summer vacation. Then we will have a bit more clarity, Yee or Nee. Maybe.

Because Aruba officially received commentary regarding the proposed law from both Dutch and Aruban advisory boards, parliament is now tasked with decisions.

And they cannot possibly blabber about AUTHONOMY because the island has been under financial supervision, LAft, since the hunger strike, forgoing some of its autonomy in exchange for the Dutch weather-proof umbrella.

Vicious attack? Not long ago, MEP attempted to bus a substantial number of its followers to escort the former Prime Minister, and the head of that party, to the VNO office to hand in a letter of protest over an insignificant remark by the Secretary of States, who clumped the Dutch islands together. Well, we are all part of the kingdom, it is a fact. But tempers flared how dare he compare Aruba to the other islands. Aruba is unique.

Off they went to protest, demanding an apology, making a fuss, creating confusion.

Then nothing happened. It was just an attempt to stir ill feelings.

What is the reason CUA opted to postpone the planned internal members’ poll regarding the proposed HOFA framework?

Admittedly, their goal is to ensure that every member can review and evaluate the most current version of the proposal before participating in a poll, so what happened?

It is worth mentioning that conspiracy theorists reason the goal behind the fuss and confusion is the help topple the current coalition, then MEP may win the resulting elections and usher in HOFA as a political win, after all the mutual consensus law was engineered by the former prime minister.

Jenna Silver is a local influencer with 203K followers on just one of her Instagram accounts. She shares the credit for the account’s popularity with her partner Key.

I should not call them influencers, they are digital creators, and they are funneling their creativity into the promotion of Aruba as a responsible travel destination.

That is fantastic news, when young professionals decide to do something different, in the service of her country.

Jenna explains that she does not like the sustainability term, greenwashing everything from products to places. To her, responsible travel is the correct way of addressing the challenges we have been facing.

I first met Jenna as a teenager, modeling for Island Temptations magazine. She was and still is especially photogenic with her angelic long blonde hair, head tilt and enigmatic half-smile.

Upon graduation she traveled the world and made Bali he favorite stop on her world map posting lyrical beautiful videos, shot by her partner, from lesser-known places on the island of the Gods, or the island of one thousand temples, as travel writers like to call it. She gathered an international following by sharing the island’s beaches, nature, culture, and hidden attraction.

She has recently returned to Aruba having graduated university in the Netherlands, with a master’s degree in Sustainable Travel. Her goal is to encourage visitors to explore the island responsibly while protecting its natural and cultural heritage.

In October she is organizing a group trip built around real connection – local businesses, ethical experiences, and the island most visitors never see, encouraging travelers to “collect only memories and leave only footprints.”

Jenna wants members of her intimate travel group to leave the island at the end of their stay with a real, lasting impression, having seen and experienced the real Aruba, Jenna & Key know and love.

On her platform she writes: Before we left Aruba to study abroad, we could already see how fast, high-volume tourism was changing our island. While it may boost the economy, it also comes at a cost: more pressure on nature and less space for local culture to thrive. When we returned, those changes were impossible to ignore, with wildlife facing greater threats, coastlines feeling increasingly crowded for locals, and more visitors than ever leaving without experiencing what truly defines Aruba: its culture.

So, that is the motivation. The first group will be here in October. Check out the trip detail on Arubagrouptrip.com. On the program: Sunset by the Sea, Beach Cleaning, Volunteering at an Animal Rescue, a Local Cooking Class, and a Nature Hike.

I applaud the initiative and wish Jenna and Key success.

They are right about the nature of activities they listed on the program. I have great memories from a beach cleaning on Tern Island in San Nicolas and from a day spend collecting trash at Grapefield. Visits to the Aruba Animal Shelter and Luna Foundation, made me a better person. These are formative experiences with the power to impact us on a deep emotional level. They will result in tears at the airport and repeat visits.

Sometimes governments accidentally tell us what’s coming.

Last week, some owners and managers of short-term vacation rentals (STRs) across Aruba noticed that a new page had quietly appeared on the Department of Economic Affairs (DEASI) website. It announced the introduction of an official STR Registration System, with registration opening August 1 and becoming mandatory by February 1, 2027. Every rental unit would receive its own official registration number, and operators would have six months to comply with the new requirements before enforcement would begin. There was even a voluntary tax amnesty for owners who had not previously reported tourist taxes or rental income.

Then, just as suddenly, the webpage disappeared before the August 1st registration start date.

Whether it went live by mistake or someone simply jumped the gun, one thing seems clear: Aruba is about to fundamentally change how short-term rentals are regulated.

And I believe that’s good news.

Registration isn’t the problem.

Let’s start with something that may surprise people. Most stakeholders – major STR management companies, AHATA, ATA, and the government agree that Aruba needs an official registration system for short-term rentals. Aruba needs to get a handle on our free-for-all STR sector.

Today, nobody knows exactly how many vacation rentals operate on the island. Estimates exceed 6,000 units. Perhaps more importantly we don’t know who owns and operates those units or which operators are – and aren’t – paying their tourist levies and income taxes. We don’t have one reliable database. And visitors have no easy way of knowing whether the property they’re renting is operating legally.

That’s not good for anyone.

A well-designed registration system can create transparency, improve safety, level the playing field, and ensure everyone pays their fair share.

The government’s own objectives—legal compliance, transparency, fair competition, quality standards, and proper tax collection—are exactly the right goals.

We shouldn’t be arguing whether Aruba should regulate short-term rentals. Instead, we should be discussing how.

Registration or permission?

Perhaps the single biggest question facing STR owners is, is this a registration system, or is it effectively a licensing system?

There is a big difference between the two. Registration says: Tell us who you are. Licensing says: Ask permission before you operate. The government’s webpage did not fully answer that question, and the distinction matters enormously.

If someone has owned and legally operated a vacation rental for years, will registration simply bring them into one transparent system? Or could registration become a mechanism to deny existing operators the ability to continue renting?

Those are two very different policies with very different consequences.

Keep it simple.

If Aruba wants high compliance, the system must be easy.

A retiree renting a small apartment behind their home should be able to complete the process without hiring consultants or lawyers. A management company overseeing fifty properties shouldn’t have to visit five government departments.

The easier compliance becomes, the higher compliance will be. The more complicated the process becomes, the larger the gray market will remain.

Government should design this system with one goal in mind: Make it easier to comply than to avoid.

The questions that matter

As encouraging as this proposal is, there are still important questions that deserve clear answers before the program officially launches.

The government should be prepared to answer these questions when the program officially launches. And if the government isn’t clear on the answers, then it should hold open hearings with stakeholders and interested parties before finalizing – like it did with the ROPV. Because this impacts a large part of our economy, and the details of the program determine whether this program succeeds or fails.

Don’t punish yesterday’s decisions.

Government has every right to establish new rules going forward. However, fairness of those rules is essential.

Thousands of Arubans have made investment decisions based on the rules that existed at the time. Many purchased houses, borrowed money, started small businesses.

Many former hourly employees at hotels, contractors, and other companies took the leap and became entrepreneurs maintaining pools and gardens, cleaning properties, managing vacation homes, or providing services like private chefs and massage therapists that didn’t exist twenty years ago. The growth of the STR market has spread tourism income far beyond the traditional hotel sector, and that’s a good thing for our economy.

Perhaps the greatest contribution of the STR industry is that it democratized tourism. Thousands of ordinary Arubans – not just large hotel companies – now participate directly in our visitor economy.

If Aruba decides its future growth should be managed differently, that’s a legitimate discussion. But changing the rules for tomorrow is very different from changing the rules for people who relied on yesterday’s.

An opportunity to lead

If the government’s real goal for this initiative is visibility of the sector, fairness, safety, and tax compliance, the program could be a tremendous success.

But if registration becomes a back door to eliminating existing vacation rentals through bureaucracy, licensing, or changing the rules after people have already invested, the economic consequences will be enormous. It could discourage investment, push operators back into the gray market, reduce tax compliance instead of improving it, hurt thousands of small entrepreneurs, and weaken one of the fastest-growing segments of Aruba’s tourism economy.

Before this program launches, the government owes Aruba a clear answer: Is this a registration system designed to improve transparency, safety, and tax compliance—or is it the first step toward reducing the number of vacation rentals on the island?

About the author: Tony van Veen is an entrepreneur, CEO, and self-described opinionated Aruban. After graduating from Colegio Arubano he spent nearly 40 years building businesses in the US while remaining closely connected to Aruba. In this occasional Bati Bleki guest column series Aruba at a Tipping Point he explores topics that will shape Aruba’s future.

Saturday night, San Nicolas hosted Street Food & Beats, combining diverse street-food stations with live music, and local artisans stands. The event built on the success of earlier San Nicolas Food Truck Festivals, organized annually by Harambre & Vibration PR.

Food stations were set up around main street and Kulture Plaza, and the admission was free. The evening was entertained by live music with Carlos Bislip Jazz Trio, Tipico Criollo and Grove Masters. Emceed by the ever-charming Leonardo Philips.

We found a mix of Aruban, Caribbean, Latin American, and international favorites reflecting Aruba’s multicultural heritage. Shoppers were pleased to find crafts and artisanal products on display by popular vendors.

The Street Food & Beats Aruba was a local event, with just a sprinkle of visitors, supporting the island’s entrepreneurs, creating a fun Saturday night in San Nicolas.

The fourth edition of Streat Food & Beats was very well attended. It is by now one of the island’s most enjoyable community events, not only for the food, but also networking, see and be seen, in the relaxed and gesellig atmosphere true to the island’s character.

Maria & Elton Hart, with the Vibrations PR team walked around promoting assorted products by event sponsors. Their kids recommended the herbal and green teas by Badia Spices. Based on their recommendation I accepted the free Hibiscus Lime pack to go.

Most unforgettable, Mondi Replika, offering a five-course vegan meal, in an improvised tent across from O’Neil Caribbean restaurant. The low table setting, featured Sabor di Tera, food by Velvet Zoe Ramos, Petite Greens orchestrated by Diamantha Kock, of Mondi Replika. The installation also offered a Mondi Box, 100% local harvest, island spices, peppered by some ancient hand washing ritual and a sense of community, sitting together at a low table, on the sidewalk, taking a momentary break from the ordinary. I regretted having my mind set on a Smash Burger by Cookout, otherwise….

More vendors: Baby Back Grill, Charjams Jerk House, Poffertjes by Pofferdorie, Amuse Private Chef & Catering, Ruiz Take Away, Cuchina di Marelva, Grace Churros, Mama Lina, Cuchina di Tucu, Keda Keto Ice-cream, Mr. Beans Coffee & Tea.

Most delicious Mojitos at Moji, nicely spiked and frozen, not too sweet, I am ready to have another at any time.

Pork-No-Grafix Low & Slow BBQ, Craft Beer Lovers Aruba, Lu Sweet Delights.

Coco Chicharrón, delicious coconut brittle, smoky and sweet, just Awg 5 for the container.

Mi Lamunchi, their lemonade was made to order, worth waiting for, in a giant tub, a week’s worth supply of vitamin C.

Fruity Spritz, Cary Cookies, Paula Bracelets, Boli’s Chupamelo, Robert’s Smoke Pit.

And….Cookout by Green Fish. The popular chef-manned stand offered two delicious menu items, pulled pork sandwiches and smashed burgers. I had the later, with caramelized onions, delicious at every bite.

At Kulture Café, we had some Pico Bello Ice-Cream, Rum Raisin and Stracciatella, my favorites.

O’Neil’s lounge, my friends report it was a great spot for an extra hour!

Andres Accessories, Maira Design, Shirley’s Secret Accessories, Toko San Nicolas, Milise Accessories.

I visited them all!

Thank you sponsors Hot Wheels Aruba, selling miniature cars, Frasa International & Martijn Trading; Thank you vendors. You delivered a most enjoyable evening.