According to Central Bank of Aruba, Oct 2005 - Table 10, last fall:
For January, 2005 the "Average hotel occupancy rate" was 86.3%, not 85.8% as posted in this article. Therefore, the actual decline is 3.2%, not the 2.7%, as listed in this article.
The other discrepancy with the figures in this article is:
"...in comparison to 50,292 Americans that visited the island in January 2005.
From the Oct, 2005 bank Table 10, the actual figure of "Americans that visited the island in January, 2005" was 50,481, not 50,292 as stated in this article.
But, there is something even more disturbing going on here.
When I compare the Oct, 2005 Table 10 that comes up now at:
one column of figures has changed from the table that I copied last fall.
It is Column #11 "Average hotel occup rate". Almost every figure has been changed from last fall.
The figures for Jan turu Oct, 2005, Column #11, "Average hotel occup rate", when first posted last fall were:
2005:
Jan 86.3
Feb 89.8
Mar 88.9
Apr 85.0
May 79.0
Jun 78.3
Jul 85.9
Aug 83.0
Sep 69.3
Oct 77.8
Now the website for Table 10 Column #11 shows these figures:
2005:
Jan 85.8
Feb 89.4
Mar 88.8
Apr 86.1
May 78.0
Jun 78.1
Jul 86.3
Aug 83.5
Sep 69.1
Oct 77.8
As far as I can tell, all the other figures for Jan thru Oct, 2005 remain the same in both instances of Table 10.
The changes are small, but when all the other figures in the chart remain the same, how can the "Average hotel occup rate" percentages" possibly change? Why would someone go to all the trouble to make these changes?
I don't have time now to try to puzzle it out, but for sure something smells fishy in these revised figures.
I'm more inclined to believe what Jossy Mansur says about the decrease in tourists than anything that is posted out of Aruba. These people are the most honest in the world are they? ( You don't say??)!! *grin*
Didn't Jossy say that tourism was down some 30%????