D-Day Letter to Aruba

I sent this to Diario Aruba as a response to Jossy Mansur's 11/30/2007 editorial. I do not expect it to be published simply because the Aruban government finds ways to make it hard on the press when it publishes anything critical:

“Hello Jossy,

Let me assure you of a few things as an American, as one who is very well-informed about the Holloway disappearance, and is a tourism professional with a degree in recreation and tourism:

First, as much as Arubans loyal to the government (among others in the world) like to think, Americans are not stupid. We know that Joe Tacopina is just another sleazy defense lawyer, and that he is paid to make guilty men look innocent. Your readers may not be aware of this, but in America lawyers are almost universally hated- especially defense attorneys. When he or his Aruban counterparts paint Joran to be some kind of innocent victim, he is only hardening our hearts against Joran and the island that sheltered him.

Second, regardless of what evidence the prosecution has or will present to the judges for a trial, Americans expect justice. I do not blame anyone but the suspects for failing to come clean and allow Dave Holloway to at least find his daughter for closure’s sake, but as a travel and tourism professional I can tell you that Aruba must provide justice for this family and for the missing girl. If it does not, the ATA may as well write the U.S. and Canada off as a loss, and start courting the Venezuelan tourists that Nels Oduber seems to hold so dearly. Sadly, the average Venezuelan have nearly as much disposable income as the average American…

This is the American attitude: we do not owe Aruba anything. We feel betrayed that we provided so much of our income to Aruban families and the government, and yet that government cannot thank us with even one prosecution. One betrayal like most Americans feel over this issue is enough to erase any number of years of safe tourism to the island. I am not saying that is fair- but that is how things are in the typical American mind. I know that Dave Holloway does not support a boycott and does not wish to harm innocent Arubans, but we do not take orders from Dave Holloway. We make our own decisions to stay away from Aruba.

Mr. Mansur, I will make a prediction: if there is no conviction handed down from Aruba’s courts regarding the missing Holloway girl, Aruba’s tourism will not return to 2005 levels for at least 10 years, and I cannot hazard a guess as to if it will ever grow much beyond that. There are many other factors that make this negative publicity even worse, such as rising fuel prices, tightening travel and restrictions in the U.S. (the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are already advertising ‘no passport fees’ on their television ads), and the very competitive nature of Caribbean tourism. In the last three issues of two prominent travel magazines, Travel Age West and Travel + Leisure, I found only two very small ads for Aruba. I see one airing of Aruba commercials on the Travel Channel per night, on most nights.

The interest just is not there anymore, and these travel and tourism outlets have no interest in advertising what travel agents aren’t selling.

Of course the Aruban government is lying about the losses to sedate the voters, but local newspapers and international groups have figures that reveal these lies for what they are. We will see how much tourism has really dropped before the next elections- I am sure the MEP’s opposition will gladly share all of the truth with voters then.

I am sorry, but the truth is Aruba must provide justice for Natalee Holloway. Americans are simply sick and tired of excuses and mistakes, and ‘Sorry, we did our best’ will not be enough ot bring us back. Honestly, I’m not sure if we ever will come back.

Your Friend,

Dan in Tx”