Aruba has a problem: Visitors are loving it to death.
You can see it along Palm Beach, the touristy northwestern part of the island, which is under construction with new high-rise hotels. The Iberostar Grand Aruba is opening this summer, and later this year, the St. Regis Palm Beach Aruba Resort. To accommodate the demand, Aruba opened a new four-lane highway called Watty Vos Boulevard before the pandemic. It's a straight shot from the airport to the strip.
You can also see it if you drive north to the Sasariwichi Dunes. On any given day, hundreds of vehicles are buzzing the dirt roads near the beach and kicking up dust. Environmentalists are fighting to keep Aruba's beloved national symbol, the tiny burrowing Shoco owl, and Terns, from having their nests crushed by ATVs. "Every year they drive over the nesting sites and kill hundreds of chicks," says bird expert Michiel Oversteegen.
And you can smell it when you walk along nearby Eagle Beach, with iconic Fofoti trees and visitors taking shelter under its thatched huts. The nearby RWZI Water Treatment Plant is struggling to keep up with demand, and occasionally overflows. Visitors complain about the unpleasant odors wafting across the water.
Some hotels have had to offer guests refunds because of the smell, according to local guides. Officials say they plan to upgrade the facility, but the progress has been slow. An Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) spokesman told me the government is doing "everything possible" to limit the impact of plant operations on the surrounding areas.
In 2023, Aruba had 1.2 million visitors, up 13% from the previous year, according to the ATA.
Americans, in particular, love to come to this island in the Dutch Caribbean, because it's relatively close to the U.S. mainland and it's safe compared to other warm-weather destinations.
But residents describe the tourist season, which runs from late November to February, as packed. The island is overrun with visitors during the traditional cold-weather months. In January, for example, Aruba had 117,172 arrivals, of which 73,784 came from the U.S. That's an 18% increase from the previous year.
Aruba is straining to live up to its slogan of "one happy island." Developers are closing in on beachfront land, especially on the island's north side near the California Lighthouse, and authorities have now imposed a moratorium on new hotels. Aruba has implemented a code of conduct for visitors (no driving on the dunes), banned single-use plastics and sunscreen with harmful oxybenzone, and doubled down on clean energy by building wind turbines.
The tourism industry is leading some of the sustainability efforts with initiatives that range from aggressive conservation to renewable energy. Most of
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Once dismissed as a sleepy retirement home for aging Anglophiles, Vancouver Island has acquired a racier profile in recent years, courtesy of its free-spirited surfing towns, pastoral wineries, community-built biking networks and extravagantly eccentric accommodations.
Airbnb execs have used the phrase “expanding beyond the core” to mean launching new products and services for guests and hosts, and also their hope to lift growth beyond the company’s main five markets: The U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, and France.
It’s almost summertime, and those family vacations aren’t going to plan themselves. If you are hoping to earn points and miles for upcoming trips to sunnier (or cooler) climes, there are some travel promotions that can double or triple those loyalty program earnings. And for the jetsetters who want to redeem those hard-earned points and miles, now is the time to start looking to find the best deal.
American tourists are flocking to Tenerife in record numbers. 5.6 million tourists visited the Spanish island in 2023, and more than 26,000 came from the United States between January and September of 2023.
What comes to mind when you hear the words “death valley?” Some sort of desolate hellscape, I would imagine. In fairness, in the summer it’s one of the hottest places on Earth. With temperatures routinely over 120, you’d be forgiven thinking it was a place absent of all life. The truth is more surprising. While even the ultra-dry Death Valley gets rain sometimes, the last year has been exceptionally wet. It got a year’s worth of rain just between October, 2023 and April, 2024.
Boater or fascinator? A hat is said to bring good luck for those who are celebrating the 150th run of the Kentucky Derby, (rather than Star Wars Day) on May 4. Derby style advises that the topper dictates the rest of your wardrobe. A flamboyant hat may call for a more streamlined outfit, where a simple chapeau invites a flashy ensemble. Whatever you choose, there’s a spot in Boston to show it off. The festivities this year range from drop-in drinks to elegant soirees. Here’s a round up of top spots for watching the most exciting two minutes in sports.
Actress Samantha Pauly is starring as Jordan Baker in the hot new Broadway musical “The Great Gatsby,” based on the famous F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. The show opened April 25th.
Renowned for their tangled roots and resistance to salinity, the earth’s mighty mangrove forests serve as a crucial bridge between the open ocean and inland environments, with no shortage of aquatic and terrestrial species thriving across their branches—yet in spite of their importance in mitigating natural disasters, this ecosystem has seen widespread devastation over the centuries. While more than 5,000 square kilometers of mangrove forest have been destroyed since the mid-’90s, not all hope is lost for these marvelous natural features. From the lush jungles of the Yucatan to the shores of Fiji, some of the earth’s most dazzling hotels have set out to restore their surrounding mangrove forests, ensuring that all native flora and fauna will have a safe place to flourish for years to come.
The European Commission has introduced a new visa “cascade” regime for Indian nationals applying for Schengen visas in India. This regime looks to offer longer-term, multi-entry Schengen visas, based on the applicant’s travel history.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kate Boardman , a 36-year-old former teacher and current content creator from Massachusetts who has lived and traveled all over the world. The following has been edited for length and clarity.