BONHATA calls for a broader measurement of tourism value. Not the number of stayover arrivals, but the economic contribution per visitor.
Bonaire has set itself a clear tourism ambition: no mass tourism, but high-value visitors who add greater economic value. That ambition is under pressure, and the June 2026 figures make that concrete.
What Bonaire set out to achieve
The comparison with its own policy is telling. The island-wide Strategic Tourism Master Plan 2017-2027 explicitly chooses high-value tourism. Not the maximum number of visitors, but visitors who add greater economic value. Higher spending, strengthening the hotel sector, and further development of the North American market.
The Economic Bureau Amsterdam (EBA) confirms this direction in its 2025 impact study. Tourism now accounts for approximately 50% of Bonaire’s GDP, 53% of employment (approximately 7,200 jobs) and 44% of local tax revenues. At the same time, EBA concludes that further economic growth does not depend on more rooms or more volume, but on higher occupancy of existing hotels, more high-spending visitors and a stronger North American market. That is precisely the market now showing the sharpest decline.
Exactly that market is now showing the strongest decline.
Signals from the sector
Hotels report lower occupancy rates. Restaurants are seeing quieter evenings. Dive schools are experiencing fewer guests. Car rental companies are renting out fewer vehicles. Suppliers to the hospitality sector report noticeably lower turnover. And international sales and distribution partners report that their bookings to Bonaire are currently running approximately ten percent behind compared to the same period last year.
It is not one industry or a few individual businesses sending this signal. It is virtually every link in the tourism chain at the same time.
BONHATA therefore asks the question: do the official arrival figures still provide sufficient insight into the actual economic performance of the tourism sector?
What the figures show
The June figures tell more than total arrivals alone. The American market, historically Bonaire’s highest-spending market, declined by 12%. The US market share fell from 35% to 31%.
At the same time, hotel occupancy fell to 51% in June, nine percentage points below last year’s level. The average room rate (ADR) held at $252, but RevPAR, the revenue per available room, dropped from $150 to $128. A decline of 15%.
The second quarter confirms the same pattern: occupancy came in at 57% compared to 61% in 2025. ADR rose to $274, but the higher room rate only partially offset the lower occupancy. RevPAR at $157 remained almost flat compared to last year ($156).
The outlook is the most concerning. November 2026 is currently running approximately 15% behind November 2025 and December approximately 10% behind. The sector is heading into the second half of 2026 with a significant gap in bookings, precisely in the months that form the run-up to peak season.
KEY FIGURES JUNE 2026 (PRELIMINARY)
Stayover visitors: 13,387 (−1.6% vs June 2025) | US market: 4,163 (−12%) | Hotel occupancy: 51% (vs 60% last year) | ADR: $252 (vs $248) | RevPAR: $128 (vs $150) | OTB November 2026: −15 percentage points vs November 2025
BONHATA’s call to action
BONHATA is not calling for the official stayover arrival figures to be questioned. They remain a useful indicator, but are insufficient for understanding how the tourism economy is actually developing. The association calls on the government (OLB), TCB and all relevant parties to broaden the discussion. Not only looking at how many visitors reach Bonaire, but also how much they spend, in what type of accommodation they stay, which market they come from, how long they stay and what economic value they add to the island’s economy.
The real question is not whether Bonaire is growing. The real question is whether Bonaire is growing in the way it set out to. Because ultimately, the number of tourists is not the benchmark. The real benchmark is whether tourism is making the Bonairean economy stronger, and whether prosperity is actually reaching the people for whom the Tourism Master Plan was once written.
At the same time, BONHATA is advocating for the restoration of North American air connections, transparency on the use of the visitor entry tax, and structured cooperation with TCB and the government on marketing and market data.