Business View Carribean l January 2023

31 32 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1 on tourism. So imagine in the span of a few days, going from an island in the middle of its busiest season to zero tourists. In a couple of studies by the IMF (International Monetary Fund), Aruba was the most impacted economy in the entire world by COVID because we lost so much business. “Fast forward a couple of months, Aruba had survived wave one and in July we opened our borders back up for tourism and we never closed them again. During that time, a lot of updated health and safety codes were created on the island, which also helped spearhead a new and different tourism industry. People wanted to still go on vacations, but be safe, and they felt very safe in Aruba because of all these new mandates and regulations. For the remainder of 2020 and into 2021, the island really showed its resilience. “Most businesses that could afford to do so went to a hybrid model or remote work. A lot of companies also invested in digitization. Supermarkets started having online orders and deliveries… the digital platforms really helped the island move forward. Some wholesale companies, for example, who depend on the hotel and tourism sector, weren’t supplying the hotels because they were empty. So by changing their business model and going direct to consumer, those companies didn’t make as much money but they were able to survive.” BVC: How is the supply chain moving now after so much disruption? Henriquez: “There was a big impact but we’re lucky that Aruba has a steady stream of products coming in. Our importers did a great job in the management of the supply chain of their own inventory systems. Aruba is not as dependent as the U.S. or other places with just in time delivery.We have companies with larger inventories which helped the island. “ATIA actually went out in public and on the news and said, “There is no shortage of food. Maybe the brand you like is not there but there is always an alternative.” So, we never had an issue with a food shortage on the island. However, the freight charges increased our prices a lot because of the supply chain disruption and the issue at the Suez Canal. An example: containers from China that used to be $4,000 per container were going for about $20,000 to get here. That raises the prices a lot for products on the island.” BVC: What issues are you lobbying the government for currently? Henriquez: “As a lobbying organization, we brought forward to government that the only way they can lower prices a bit is by changing the calculation methods of the import for the time being. As long as freight is high and the economy is recuperating, don’t charge import duties on the freight charges. We kept on fighting for that and we’re seeing the fruits, but they’re bringing whole new legislation in for those areas, so we’re doing the best we can. “Because the economy was closed for a long time, Aruba got financial support from The Netherlands. During those times they subsidized the companies here on the island to help us. For this subsidy, they requested the island to make a reform package, Lucy Fingal Office Manager Roselyn Guzman Office Assistant