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Yesterday Bonaire International Airport (BIA) officially opened the new terrace at the departure hall, with the cutting of the ribbon by Lieutenant Governor Rijna, Commissioner Thielman and Mr. Van der Scheer, CEO of BIA. “For many Bonaire residents, Flamingo Airport is a gateway to the region and the rest of the world. In addition, it is an important place for visitors to our island where their stay begins and ends. That is why we want to offer all these passengers a pleasant experience,” says Van der Scheer.

“The BC aims to improve Bonaire’s competitive position. Improving sea and air connections is essential for this,” said Commissioner Thielman. “Upgrading the visitor experience helps improve the tourism product.” Commissioner Thielman announced that he is in an advanced state with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for the renovation of the platforms and the modernization and expansion of the current terminal.

The new terrace is part of a series of adjustments and extensions to the terminal that have been realized in recent years, including the new area for security control, the new shops and a new operational centre for the Airport Duty Officers team. The terrace offers departing passengers an attractive outdoor waiting area with a bar. The decor with plants, wood, modern furniture and attractive lighting provides a beautiful appearance that matches the island. It has been in use for some time, but was only recently completed in its entirety.

After a blessing by Pastor Santiago, Van der Scheer explained in his speech that the improvements make a major contribution to the passenger experience. He also said that more improvements are coming in the near future, such as the previously announced canopy for arriving passengers, a lift on the platform and a larger baggage belt in the arrivals hall.

“We are very grateful to all our partners for the good cooperation, especially the Public Entity Bonaire, our suppliers and the users of the airport. We want to celebrate this milestone as a token of appreciation to everyone who made this possible. And it is an opportunity for us to share what we are doing to continuously improve Flamingo Airport,” says Van der Scheer. Commissioner Thielman was delighted with this opportunity and looks forward to an intensive collaboration to usher in a new era for Flamingo Airport.

Joint Quarterly Press Conference

Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) together with its partners the Public Entity of Bonaire (OLB), BONHATA, Bonaire International Airport (BIA) and the Harbor Master held its quarterly press conference to provide an overview of Quarter 2 Tourism performance outlook for winter 2022/2023. A noteworthy analysis which was shared during the press conference is the fact that Bonaire welcomed 11,410 visitors (non residents) in August 2022 of which 9,806 originated from international markets such as the Netherlands and USA and 1,507 originated from the CAS countries, 44 visitors from the BES islands and 53 visitors were registered as transit passengers. 

In the coming period, the focus of Bonaire’s government will be to develop in a well-balanced manner. The goal is to raise the quality of tourism, which should lead to better income for our citizens. The commissioner for economic development and tourism, Hennyson Thielman, explained: “Many Bonairians earn their daily bread in the tourism sector. Our objective is to improve the quality of life for all Bonairians. This is why we are investing the extra revenue generated by the entry tax, in educating people to upgrade their skills, as well as in promoting our culture, fisheries and infrastructure improvements. The tourist tax law is currently being evaluated to propose some adjustments, among others for the Bonairians who live abroad. We have taken several decisions to guide development toward a better balance between tourism and the community’s well-being. For example, the decision to hold tourist accommodation developments and tie these to stricter rules and conditions. Also, only one large cruise ship will be allowed to moor per day. The recent MoU with Royal Caribbean is to ensure higher revenue for the local sector, as well as investments in our culture, nature and monuments. With these steps and the emphasis on education, we want to achieve that tourism generates much more benefit for our inhabitants.” says Hennyson Thielman, commissioner of Economic & Tourism Affairs.

Tourism Corporation Bonaire’s CEO, Mr. Miles Mercera shared that the aim is to reach 100% tourism recovery by the end of 2022. Tourism Recovery must include structural changes on the way we position the island and the niche market we wish to attract. September 1^st 2022, TCB in collaboration with its stakeholders introduced the new branding direction followed by a new website launch mid September 2022. TCB measured a soft decline in visitor numbers compared to July 2022 for the month of August 2022 and a 4% overall decline in total airline ticket movements compared to last year. This is a result of the limited capacity of inter-island traffic and a soft decline in passenger movements from the Netherlands. The USA continued with a strong performance with a steady increase compared to last year. The launch of the Mural of TCB (office building) as part of the product development strategy of TCB was revealed. TCB also shared a sneak peak of the new website and USA branding campaign scheduled to launch mid September 2022.

Veroesjka de Windt, CEO of BONHATA shared that the 1 st Quarter of 2022 started well with an average occupancy of 82% but we have measured a decline in the occupancy percentage starting April which was 79% and it hasn’t gone up since. Quarter 2/3 shows an average of 66%. While if you compare the same months with those of 2021 you see that we did better last year. In comparison, July & August 2021 had an average occupancy of 71 and 74% while 2022 measured an average hotel occupancy of 64 and 58%. BONHATA concludes, similar to TCB that the champagne effect is wearing off. BONHATA shares that all other destinations are open for business which impacts the ABC islands. For Bonaire, that means that there is work to be done and possibilities. Whilst we might have lower occupancy, we have measured  an improvement in terms of our  Average Daily Rate. The Average Daily Rate 2022 for Q2/3 is $227 and the forecast for Q3/4 is $235. Compared to Q3-4 of 2021 the ADR was $ 192. One can translate to fewer people but more revenue. When talking about the ADR of accommodations it is good to mention that BONHATA members ADR vary between $86 up to $800 a night.

Maarten van der Scheer, CEO of BIA, shared that Bonaire International Airport experienced a strong first half of 2022. BIA processed 8% more arriving and departing passengers than in the first 7 months of the pre-COVID year 2019. Flamingo Airport is well underway with the preparation of a number of improvements at the airport, in order to upgrade the capacity and quality experience for the passengers. BIA is optimistically cautious about the 2022 and 2023 forecasts, Van der Scheer mentioned the worldwide pilot shortage as a possible risk for future developments.

Ms. Kia-San Silberie on behalf of Harbor Master presented the most recent data for the months of July (2 cruise ships) and August (2 cruise ships and also provided a view for the next month of September (5 cruise ships). Kia-san informed that Bonaire port is currently busy with the cruise schedule for the remainder of 2022 and full schedule for 2023, according to the new executive council policy to move towards the one cruise ship call a day policy. Kia-san also went into detail on the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that has been signed with Royal Caribbean Cruise lines which enables the port the ability to collaborate closely with the cruise line to work towards the “perfect vessel” for Bonaire. To have the perfect fit vessel requires improvement of the operation at the port, regarding bookings, services, and planning. 

As part of the Tourism Recovery plan the stakeholders initiated the joint quarterly tourism press conferences with the aim to promote and foster collaboration and inform our local community on the developments within the tourism industry. TCB in collaboration with its stakeholders will continue to inform our community on a quarterly basis on the developments, opportunities and challenges in the Tourism Industry.

Partners: OLB, BONHATA, BIA, Haven Meester and TCB.

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Information Visitor Entry Tax per 1 July 2022

As of August 1, 2022, the General Meeting of Shareholders of Bonaire International Airport N.V. (“BIA”) has appointed Mr. Maarten van der Scheer MSc BA as Director of the organization. He herewith succeeds Jos Hillen, who has held the position on an interim basis since July 1, 2019. The appointment is on the recommendation of the Supervisory Board and is the result of an intensive and transparent selection process which started at the end of last year with the support of Deloitte.

Marco van de Kreeke, chairman of the Supervisory Board, warmly congratulates Maarten van der Scheer on his appointment as Director: “The Board is delighted to announce that Maarten van der Scheer has been appointed as the new director of the airport. Maarten is experienced in managing in a complex corporate environment in which many interests are involved. He has all-round airport experience, strong communication skills and is a team builder, able to further develop the airport together with the entire airport team and the many stakeholders on Bonaire. We very much look forward to his arrival and wish him a lot of success.”

Maarten van der Scheer (42) worked for Royal Schiphol Group and has over 15 years of experience in management of airports, both at the core of operations and at a strategic level in senior management. He has extensive experience in the development and financing of large airport projects. Mr. Van der Scheer: “The island and the airport can be proud of what has been built up over many years. I look forward to further develop our common goals in close collaboration with the partners on the island and I am delighted that I can be a part of that.” Maarten will soon settle with his family on Bonaire.

The Supervisory Board would like to express its sincere gratitude to Jos Hillen for his dedication and efforts in the past years. Under his leadership, important steps have been taken in the field of safety. The Safety Certificate issued by the ILT for the maximum period of three years is clear evidence of a safe flight operation and a properly functioning safety management system. In a turbulent period that followed, in which Covid led to sharply declining passenger numbers and revenues, BIA was able to keep the organization together and minimize the financial consequences of the crisis due to a good cooperation with the relevant ministries in The Hague. Furthermore, many improvement projects have been carried out at the airport under his leadership and together with all colleagues he has developed a long-term maintenance program. In recent years he also led with great ambition the process to come to a new masterplan for the airport.

Marco van de Kreeke has been reappointed by the General Meeting of Shareholders as Chairman of the Supervisory Board for a second term of three years. Lastly, the Supervisory Board is pleased that Mr. John Soliano has accepted the position of Secretary of the Supervisory Board.

The Supervisory Board is confident that with these appointments, BIA will be able to manage the many challenges that the global aviation and airports are currently facing. The Board will continue its efforts to structurally strengthen the organization of BIA.