Hotel Aruba

Hotel Aruba is a great tourist vacation. Just imagine going to that Carribean island, Isle of Aruba, is synonymus, with holidays, and wealthy ones at that.

Aruba is an island in the Caribbean Sea, just a few miles north of the Venezuela's Paraguaná Peninsula, and it forms a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is very dry, with little of the tropical vegetation that may expected in the Caribbean.

Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.

Aruba is a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches. Its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius. The highest point in Aruba is Mount Jamanota, at 188 m above sea level.

As a seperate part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the island has no administrative subdivisions.

Main article: Economy of Aruba

About half of the Aruban Gross National Product is earned with tourism or related activities. Most of the tourists are from the Americas, notably the United States.

Aruba receives large amounts of development aid from the Dutch government each year.

Demography

Main article: Demography of Aruba

A large part of the Arubans descends from the African slaves that were brought and traded here from the 17th to 19th century, although they have mixed with the native Indian population.

Although the official language is Dutch, Papiamento is predominant. This creole language is formed from elements of Dutch, English, Spanish and Portuguese. Spanish and English are also spoken.

The majority of the population are followers of the Christian belief, mostly Roman Catholic.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Aruba

The origins of the population and location of the island give Aruba a mixed culture. Dutch influence is can still be seen, even though not much of the population is of Dutch origin. Tourism from the United States has recently also increased the importance of American culture.

The holiday of Carnival is, like in many Caribbean and Latin American countries, an important one.

The economy of Aruba is an open system, with tourism currently providing the largest percentage of the country's income. Because of tourism's rapid growth in the last 80
years, related industries like construction have also flourished. Other primary industries include oil refining and storage, as well as offshore banking. Although the island's poor soil and low rainfall limit its agricultural prospects, aloe cultivation, livestock, and fishing contribute to Aruba's economy. In addition, the country also exports art and collectibles, machinery, electrical equipment, and transport equipment. Aruba's small labor force and low unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.

With such a large part of its economy dependent on tourism, the Aruban government is striving to increase business in other sectors to protect against possible industry slumps. Their current focus is on expanding technology, finance, and communications.
Unlike many Caribbean islands, a plantation economy never developed on Aruba due to its arid climate. Early Spanish explorers considered the island of little value, partly because the poor soil made growing crops difficult and partly because their attempts to find gold turned up empty-handed. However, long after the Dutch obtained control of Aruba, they found the gold the Spanish had been seeking.

Gold

With the discovery of gold on Aruba in 1800, mining became the island's foremost industry. Aruba's economy boomed. However, by 1916 the gold supply had mostly been tapped out, making it impossible for companies to turn a profit. As the gold mining industry waned, so did the economy.

Aloe

First planted on Aruba in 1850, aloe thrived in its desert conditions. With a healthy demand for aloe products, it became an important part of Aruba's economy. In fact, for many years, the country was aloe's top exporter. But over the years, many aloe fields were replaced by buildings, diminishing its production. Exports declined.

The oldest company on the island, Aruba Aloe, has recently instituted changes in the hopes of becoming Aruba's leading product manufacturer. They built a new, modern facility, an aloe museum, and designed new packaging. Although most of their product line sells in the national market, a 2005 exporting deal with a U.S. company and sales through their website have increased their international market.

Oil

Despite setbacks caused by the troubled gold and aloe industries, Aruba's economy didn't suffer long. Because of its location near Venezuela, the island became an attractive spot for oil refineries. The Lago Oil and Transport Company, owned by Exxon, opened in 1929. At the time, Lago's oil refinery and storage facility was the largest in the world. Following in their footsteps, the Eagle Oil Refinery opened soon after. Over the next few decades, the oil industry took over as Aruba's primary economic force.

The Eagle Oil Refinery shut down and was dismantled in the late 1950s. But the Lago refinery kept going until 1985, when the demand for oil fell and Exxon closed it. In 1991, the Coastal Oil Company bought it, scaled down operations, and reopened it. Although its reopening didn't raise Aruba's oil industry to its previous heights, it did revive that sector and continues to be a key contributor to the country's economy.

Tourism

In 1947, Aruba's government founded a tourist board to explore the possibility of developing a tourism industry. Several years later, cruise ships began to dock in Oranjestad, Aruba's capital city. The island's first luxury hotel was built in 1959, giving the fledgling industry a good start. Over the years, tourism grew and helped create a prosperous economy.

As the oil industry waned, tourism increased in importance. The government offered fiscal incentives to spur growth of hotels and other tourist-oriented businesses. Their efforts resulted in a steady and rapid rise in tourism. When a surplus of these jobs couldn't be filled, they placed a one-year moratorium on new hotel construction and new tourist corporations.

Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, tourism temporarily declined because of grounded flights and travel fears. Aruba stepped up its visible security force in tourist areas to heighten safety and reassure visitors. After a short time, tourism rebounded strongly.

Another potential threat to the industry occurred in 2005, when the May 30 disappearance of vacationing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway made international news. Claiming that Aruban authorities weren't taking the case seriously enough, her mother and the Governor of Alabama called for a nationwide boycott of Aruba. However, the U.S. federal government didn't back the proposed boycott. Aruba's reputation as one of the safest islands in the Caribbean may have helped it overcome any negative stigma caused by the case. The amount of tourism in June, 2005, actually rose by 9% from the previous year.

After the war, Gideon settled in Miami, Florida with “decorations for valor, memories of the kind of combat duty that scars you somewhere inside, and $300.” [6]. Shortly after his arrival in Miami, he got married and had two children. With a family to raise, he became involved in commercial enterprises. He worked painting houses on Miami Beach, as well as painting blouses and other decorative items for sale locally. He briefly attended the Terry Art School in Miami with assistance from the GI Bill, but quickly dedicated most of his waking hours to making a living through his art.

Throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, Gideon was contracted by many businesses to provide original works en masse. From an orange juice producer in Lakeland, Florida to large art prints and reproduction companies, to famous hotels, Gideon was in high demand and considered the “Top-Selling U.S. Artist” [7].

Although difficult to count in retrospect, it is probable that Gideon produced over 10,000 original works[8] for such entities as the Fontainebleau Hotel (Miami Beach, Florida), Jamaica Inn (Jamaica), Aruba Hotel (Aruba), El Rancho Hotel (Port-au-Prince, Haiti), International Inns (Washington DC), Duck Key Hotel (Florida), Rooney Plaza (Miami), Dunes Motel (Miami), Americana Hotel (Miami Beach) [9], Montmartre Hotel (Miami), Doral Beach Hotel (Miami), Key Biscayne Hotel (Miami), Sands Hotel (Las Vegas), Howard Johnson Hotel (Las Vegas), Voyager Hotel (Miami), Ocean Reef Hotel & Country Club (Miami), Kraft Foods, Burdines Department Store, Richards Department Store, Tip Freeman Pictures, and Turner Pictures.

Members of the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, the Aruba Tourism Authority, the Aruba Hospitality and Security Foundation, the Aruban Chamber of Commerce and government figures, including Public Relations Representative Ruben Trapenberg, formed an "Aruba Strategic Communications Task Force" to respond collectively to what they perceived to be unfounded and/or negative portrayals of the island.[147] The group issued press releases and sent representatives to appear in news media. They joined the Aruban government in opposing the calls for a boycott of the island