During the commemoration ceremony of 2 years of Covid-19, ATA’s CEO, Ronella Croes shared a few words. It focused on the start of Covid-19 and the impact it had on the flight and tourism industry worldwide, especially what this means for Aruba and its dependency on tourism.
The theme that was touched upon was the closing and reopening of the borders in 2020, the strategy of reopening, particularly for the United States market, looking at how Aruba was one of the first ones to open again for that market and it was touched upon that how calculated and risky it was, demonstrating leadership and courage on Aruba’s part.
It was also mentioned that recovery is on a good path and in 2021, Aruba recovered 72% of visitors in juxtaposition with 2019, surpassing the definitive optimistic scenery for 2021. Mrs. Croes added that Aruba has one of the highest recovery rates in the region, and according to the projects for 2022, Aruba could closely reach the level of 2019.
In addition to the topic of tourism, there was also talk about how Covid-19 has impacted our daily lives, and how people in our community have lost their jobs, and felt the affected their mental health, and also the people who lost family members and other loved ones.
This space was used to remember our community with resilience, which is a part of who we are and this kept being demonstrated in the pandemic. There were many difficult moments, but we’ve learned to appreciate people, places, and moments because we have seen how easy it was to lose them. We got the opportunity to observe nature in its natural glory. We could immerse ourselves in the beauty of our island. We could share new experiences with our loved ones.
“While we continue adapting to the new reality that we are in, we can continue to work together, and if we keep using our Aruban resilience, we will reach far. Let us maintain the teaching of Covid-19 left for us. We are resilient, they have that strength, every person has it, don’t forget, maybe a few feel that it’s difficult to detect. Never deliver and always continue going forward, step by step”.
