Agriculture, Fishery and Mining
Agriculture today in Curaçao is done on a relatively small scale and local farmers grow and export aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables and tropical fruits.

A large number of people derive either full-time or part-time income from fishing in Curaçao, while others gain employment building and repairing fishing vessels thus adding a considerable multiplier effect.

Mijnmaatschappij Curaçao N.V. is a mining company and daughter company of Janssen de Jong Caribbean. (http://www.mijnmaatschappij.com) and offers a wide range of products. The demand for high quality mining products in the U.S. and Europe has increased and resulted in the company's export of limestone aggregates, boulders, fine ground limestone and selective mining of limestone. The company's mining process is fully automated and the products are used in the concrete, asphalt glass industry and agriculture.

Mijnmaatschapij Curaçao also delivers raw materials for construction purposes, such as portland cement, high furnace cement, blasting grit, washed silica sand and sea sand.

Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry in Curaçao is relatively small and focused on the local market. However, the Curaçao government continues to seek diversification of its and offers an array of attractive opportunities for foreign investors in the manufacturing industry.

Manufactures associations

Utilities & Telecom
Water and Electricity is supplied by Aqualectra. Marubeni Corporation, a U.S. based company, acquired a preferred equity interest in Aqualectra in 2001. Aqualectra, has electricity generating capacity of 235 MW and drinking water production capacity of 69,000 cubic meters per day. Aqualectra serves approximately 60,000 electricity and 62,000 water customers in Curaçao.

In addition to its preferred equity interest, Marubeni has committed to provide technical services to Aqualectra and business and economic development support to Curaçao.

The water on the island is distilled sea water, electricity on the island is a bit of a specialty with 127 volts and 50 cycles.

Curaçao has an excellent telecommunications infrastructure in place. This system features direct telephone links worldwide, digital and computerized systems, satellite link-ups, and fiber optic cabling. Internet connections are also available at competitive prices. The telecommunications industry on Curaçao is currently re-investing most of its profits into new capital and technologies.

Construction
The construction industry is currently thriving in Curaçao and additional opportunities will open up as the tourism demand increases as a result of the targeted strategy by the Tourist Board.

Trade and Export
Curaçao has many advantages as a transshipment port, leveraging its exceptional port facilities, modern airport, fully serviced business parks, multi-lingual population, geo graphic location, and EU access.

One of the most visible symbols of Curaçao's commitment to the promotion of international trade is number of facilities offered. A World Trade Center Curaçao (WTC).

Business parks where long lease sites and multipurpose industrial buildings are available for rent at very competitive rates in the fully serviced Industrial Park.

Trading companies can manage their marketing and distribution via Curaçao's Economic Zones where goods for export can be manufactured, processed, assembled, packed, exhibited, stored, and released from bond, all absolutely free from customs duties. In addition, services, for instance via Internet, may also be provided.

Hotels and Hospitality
Visitors to the island will find that Curaçao is a sophisticated island and a place that gives very good value for money. Hotels cater to any size wallet, great or small and hosts its share of large hotels/resorts, some with casinos, but you'll also find a selection of smaller hotels and inexpensive guesthouses. Many of the hotels and resorts are located along the south coast, the beach areas, and in Willemstad.

Restaurants in Curaçao run the range from elegant dining to roadside kiosks, with just about everything between. Hotels in Willemstad restaurants tend to cater to fine dining, while those along the countryside are best known for tasting seafood and barbecue dishes. The country also hosts familiar fast-food joints such as McDonald's and Pizza Hut.

Most restaurants will accept credit cards and traveler's checks, but not all. Call (or email) ahead to confirm. For evening dining, it's always best to make reservations. Note that many restaurants will tack on a 15% service charge to your bill, ostensibly a tip, but one that is not necessarily given to the wait person. Feel free to leave something extra. Transportation, Logistics, & Communications

Transportation & Logistics
The existing Curaçao International Airport, Hato Curaçao's international airport boasts the longest runway in the Caribbean at 3,410 meters in length and 60 meters in width. The runway is capable of handling almost any type of aircraft including jumbo jets. more »

Financial & Business Services
Curaçao as a financial service center has a proven track record that goes back many years. The financial sector through its sophistication and high degree of professionalism has kept its competitive position in the world.

The financial sector of Curaçao has adopted the Statement of Principles recommended in 1988 by the International Committee of Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices (The Basle Committee).

The Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles has also done its share to try and "weed out" any and all institutions that willfully violate the ethical and professional standards of all banks and financial institutions.

Business Services that Curaçao specializes in and excel at are:

International Finance
Offshore Tax and Legal Services
Corporate Training
IT and e-Commerce
International Trading
Niche Call Centers

Tourism
Tourists from the Caribbean have longed recognized Curaçao as a vacation paradise. Europeans have long chosen it as a family friendly destination of choice because of its sophisticated and educational tourism options. The first class hotels, wonderful climate, crystal clear seawater, fascinating architecture, floating market, pontoon bridge, secluded bays, rich fauna and flora, museums and the many possibilities for excursions and entertainment make Curaçao an island with Old World Charm and New World Sophistication. The true strategic advantage of Curaçao's tourism product is the authenticity of the experience and the diverse activities available.


Curaçao has its own tropical feel, perennially sunny skies, warm turquoise waters, and plenty of activities, not to mention some of the Caribbean's most gracious, hospitable people. "Bon bini, welcome," the first greeting you're likely to hear in Papiemento (the local dialect, a medley of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French and Arawak) is a genuine overture. Visitors cannot help but be under the influence of the islands architectural charm of Old World Amsterdam, with buildings embellished with decorative facades.

Curaçao dazzles tourists on first impression, especially if you enter its capital, Willemstad by cruise ship. Willemstad has undergone a monumental restoration to preserve its architectural heritage. Shopping, historic Dutch architecture, nightlife, diving and snorkeling, Caiquetio paintings, caves, swimming, the Sea Aquarium, casinos, and restaurants are the island's main attractions.

Curaçao is a good choice for veteran Caribbean visitors who want to do more than lie on the beach. Its distinctive culture and varied attractions make a pleasant mixture of things not often found together in the Caribbean. If sunning on long white-sand beaches is your goal, you'll probably be happier on another island. A lot of Curaçao's beaches are rocky.

The floating market is breathtaking and stays in your memory for a life time. Vendors flaunt their produce, plants and souvenir to visitors as they pass by in a non threatening way unlike other island markets. A couple of blocks away stands the Mikve Israel Emanuel Synagogue. The oldest synagogue in Western Hemisphere, consecrated in 1732 by Sephardic Jews, has floors carpeted in sand to symbolize the desert path of the Israelites and the years spent smothering the sounds of their prayers during the Inquisition. An adjoining museum unlike any other in the Caribbean region is a treasure trove of ceremonial and historical artifacts. You can spend days exploring Curaçao.

Christoffel Park, is a rugged 4450-acre wildlife preserve, offers challenges for bikers, horseback riders and birders. The Boca Tabla coastal plateau and grotto gives an awesome view of a coral island that's emerged from the sea. With 38 beaches tucked in coves around the island, Curaçao is a treat for beach hoppers. Don't miss the wide curve of pristine sand at the posh Sonesta Resort Hotel. Big Knip and Small Knip, each protected by coral cliffs, have the best public beaches. The Seaquarium, meanwhile, offers an exciting Animal Encounters program: You can swim with stingrays and exotic fish and sharks through a plexiglas enclosure. (Actually, you're the one who's enclosed - the sharks swim free.) For more information call: Curaçao Tourism: 1-800-332-8266 / 212-683-7660

More tourism statistics can be found on the Curacao Tourist Board's corporate website.