Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croeswill has been appointed as Aruba Tourism Authority’s very first chief executive officer. As of January 2011, Aruba Tourism Authority becomes privatised and will operate as an independent organisation, free of government bureaucracy and with access to independent marketing funds.

Having worked with the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association in the past, Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croeswill joins the Aruba Tourism Authority from Tourism Corporation Bonaire, where she developed a global branding strategy, improving airlift to the island from key international markets, achieving a record number of inbound arrivals with 17 per cent growth and increasing cruise tourism arrivals from 50,000 to 250,000 annually.

The Aruba Tourism Authority is responsible for developing and effectively executing the marketing of Aruba internationally in order to increase the volume of revenues derived from tourism and to stimulate economic activity on the island.

Aruba has established itself as one of the top 10 destinations in the Caribbean for the British market, which is now second only to The Netherlands in generating visitors to the island among its European markets. Year-on-year visitor numbers from the UK to Aruba increased 19.5 per cent in the first nine months of 2010 and are expected to surpass the 15,000 mark by the end of the year.

The Aruba Tourism Authority recently unveiled a brand new colourful logo for the destination, as a result of a rebranding campaign. This also included the adoption of the tagline ‘One Happy Island’, which until now was only used in Europe, across all Aruba’s markets, making it the island’s official tourism strapline.