Aruban Boycott Not Having an Affect? Fewer passengers arrive Airport in 2005

From Amigoe, December 20, 2005: Less air-passengers in the second half of 2005 (Dutch version)

(Amigoe: English version excerpt)

ARUBA – Compared to last year, fewer passengers arrived at the airport of Aruba in the last five months of 2005. Peter Steinmetz, manager of Aruba Airport Authority says that this is due to the disappearance of the American teenager Natalee Holloway.

Full translated version from Amigoe.com

ORANJESTAD – Airport Reina Beatrix has, compared to a year ago, in the last five months of 2005 less passengers have who come to Aruba. The decreasing number of passengers is according to Peter Steinmetz, director of Aruba Airport Authority (AAA), a direct consequence of disappeared American teenager Natalee Holloway.

Although the year is not yet over and the figures of the number processed passengers is not definite, the airport director puts now all that the number of coming in passengers in the first half year of 2005 well was, but that this for the second half year definitely not the case is. The forecast for December is also not well. The exact figures over 2005 are announced in January 2006.

Previous year came 1.7 million passengers from foreign countries to Aruba. According to Steinmetz it is now already certain that this number in 2005, is not obtained. The airport director blame this directly to the matter Holloway.

Nancy Grace, what was your question the other day? You could not believe what?

She said being shocked that the tourism in Aruba has grown. “Since the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 7 percent more tourist have gone to Aruba, and 70 percent are Americans. How is this possible?”

Maybe because it is not. Thus explains the all out spin by some claiming that there has been no affect to Aruba. To deny the results is absurd. Even if more cruise ships come to Aruba, which is debatable, how does one explain the following? If there are less airplane passengers through Reina Beatrix International Airport how could the hotel rooms be at capacity or close to as has been previously stated by Aruban officials and Hotel ones as well? Those on cruise ship have a place to stay. So how is it that the hotel rooms are at capacity?

So instead of a concerted effort to investigate the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, the family gets more propaganda. Instead of an image of an investigation, the family gets reasons why states should not back them. Thus the reason why Jossy Mansur did the editorial the other day. The group that came to Washington, DC stated that there were 14 investigators on the Natalee Holloway. One would ask whether that is presently? Fourteen investigators, yet there seem to be more members of the Aruban Strategic Communications Task Force with the additions of Arlene Schipper and Steve Cohen.

It is Peter Steinmetz, director of Aruba Airport Authority (AAA), that made the comment. No one from the family or the United States. It can actually only get worse, not better.

Its not asking too much to emphasis the investigation and do the right thing. No one can say it was done to the best of your capabilities, when the Van der Sloot home and property was not 100% searched. People are not going to Aruba because Natalee went missing, they are doing so because of what happened after she went missing.