“Aruba has too much tourism” is an argument that former minister and former PPA parliamentary leader, Otmar Oduber, expressed disagreement with. That is why the PPA completely turns the debate around: tourism has grown, but the Government failed to prepare roads, transportation, nature, and infrastructure to grow along with it.
According to the former PPA leader, Aruba is looking for the culprit in the wrong place. Traffic is congested. The North Coast is under pressure. Infrastructure is lagging behind. There are concerns regarding construction and the island’s capacity. But for Oduber, that is not automatically proof of over-tourism. “I do not believe we have over-tourism. We have under-development.” The statement places responsibility right back where, according to Oduber, it belongs: on the Government.
“We knew that tourism was growing”
Aruba’s economy relies heavily on tourism. Oduber mentioned during the press conference that around 92% of the economy is directly or indirectly related to the sector. His point is not the figure itself, but the consequence. If Aruba has known for decades that tourism is the main economic engine, why hasn’t infrastructure grown at the same pace?
Why wasn’t public transportation transformed? Why weren’t the roads prepared? Why wasn’t the protection of natural areas combined with designated routes and oversight? Does it seem as though the Government only now discovered that growth requires planning?
Government cannot change the rules afterward
According to Oduber, the Government has had the opportunity since last year to change conditions if it wanted a different development model: more housing, different density, a different type of construction, or tighter restrictions. “The Government had the opportunity to say: we want to change the conditions to achieve another goal,” and that is precisely what they failed to do in time. Now investors face uncertainty, while the Government treats the situation as if the investment itself were the problem. “You have to admit that, as a Government, you failed to carry out your responsibility to make the necessary changes.”
Traffic? Where is public transportation?
Oduber’s argument becomes particularly strong when addressing traffic. If the Government truly wants fewer cars on the road, the solution is not merely putting a stop to growth. People must be given alternatives. Modern and reliable public transportation would allow an employee to leave their car at home, commute comfortably, avoid parking expenses, and reduce vehicle numbers. “I want less individual transport and better public transport.” For Oduber, that is development.
Nature shouldn’t pay the price either
Nor is Oduber advocating for unlimited construction. Throughout his tenure as minister, he demonstrated the exact opposite: protection of natural areas, the Marine Park, environmental legislation, and regulation.
The ROPV itself recognizes the need to limit the impact of motor vehicles on nature, including the possibility to designate paths and routes and regulate vehicle quantities and hours. “Therefore, the solution does not have to be development versus nature. With good governance and vision, you can regulate and balance both.”
ATA: Tourism generates money, but the country doesn’t feel it
Here Oduber connects his argument to something far more political: ATA (Aruba Tourism Authority) funds.
According to Oduber, if tourism generates tens of millions, those funds must be reinvested into the product generating that revenue: infrastructure, security, roads, destination management, and nature. Oduber questions the current direction where approximately Afl. 80 million could end up in the Government coffers instead of remaining available for tourism-related investments.
His implicit question is devastating: If tourism generated so much prosperity, why is the infrastructure needed to support tourism falling behind? Oduber is not denying that Aruba has limits. He is saying the Government had an obligation to anticipate them. “You cannot allow growth over decades, fail to build transportation, fail to maintain infrastructure, fail to control routes, fail to update rules in time, and then declare that tourism is the problem. It is not that tourism developed too much. It is that Aruba and the government did not develop enough to carry the growth that we created ourselves,” Otmar Oduber concluded.
