IN CONVERSATION WITH ATILAY USLU

When Curaçao’s former Minister Cijntje and Muryad de Bruin of the Curaçao Tourist Board approached Atilay Uslu with the idea of establishing a cruise operation with Curaçao as its home port, the entrepreneur faced a challenge. Despite the island’s established tourism industry, convincing a cruise line to begin and end its itineraries here proved difficult. Today, Corendon’s cruise operation has completed its first season, bringing a new dimension to the company’s growing presence in Curaçao.

For the maritime sector, the story offers a look at how tourism, aviation and cruise operations can intersect, and at the opportunities and responsibilities that come with doing business on an island

The distance between Curaçao and Miami was one of the main obstacles. A ship sailing between the two would spend around two days at sea in each direction, leaving limited time for destinations in the southern Caribbean. After discussions with several cruise lines, an opportunity emerged through Ambassador Cruise Line, which had a ship, the Renaissance, that was not operating during the winter.

Ambassador was willing to lease the ship on the condition that 250 cabins could be sold. For Corendon, the arrangement made commercial sense. Curaçao faces a shortage of hotel rooms during the winter season, while Corendon has an established customer base in the Netherlands. Operating a cruise from Curaçao would allow the company to sell cruise holidays to Dutch customers while making hotel rooms available to American visitors. The Curaçao Tourist Board supported the initiative with marketing.

The first cruise departed IJmuiden on October 30, 2025, arriving in Curaçao on November 16. Atilay was surprised by the enthusiasm among local residents for the new product. Around half of the passengers come from the ABC islands, many of them appreciating the opportunity to take a cruise without first traveling to Miami.

The first season has now been completed, and the next has begun late October 2026, when the ship departs IJmuiden again.

The itineraries are unusual, partly because the ports were approached at short notice when the operation was being established. This resulted in ten different itineraries departing from Curaçao, each offering a distinct combination of destinations. In principle, a passenger could take ten different cruises without repeating the same itinerary.

The product has also been adapted to its Caribbean setting. On board, the Mondi restaurant serves Caribbean cuisine, and Caribbean music contributes to the atmosphere. The passenger mix, drawn from Europe and the ABC islands rather than the American market, is another distinctive feature.

The ship has also proved useful beyond leisure travel. Last year CINEX organized its trade mission using the cruise operation, allowing participants to visit ten islands on one trip. According to Atilay, the arrangement has been successful enough to continue this winter.

At the end of the season, passengers can also travel from Curaçao to the Netherlands on the ship. Some retirees in the Netherlands have taken advantage of the opportunity to combine the transatlantic journey with the different Caribbean itineraries before returning to the Netherlands.

For now, expanding the operation with a second ship is not under consideration. Corendon and Ambassador will first decide whether to renew their agreement for another three winter seasons.

Corendon is not responsible for the cruise ship’s bunkering or other port services. Those arrangements are handled by Ambassador Cruise Line, an important distinction between Corendon’s role in selling and operating the holiday product and the cruise line’s responsibility for the vessel.

The cruise is one of five parts of Corendon’s business in Curaçao. The company operates flights from Amsterdam five times a week and from Düsseldorf three times a week. It also manages hotels, sells holiday packages through its tour operators, operates the Mondi restaurant in Jan Thiel and runs the cruise operation.

Corendon currently has around 1,150 hotel rooms on the island. In March 2027, it is scheduled to begin managing a hotel on Penstraat, bringing the total to approximately 1,300 rooms.

The company’s next expansion focus is Miami, where it has purchased two hotels in the Art Deco district. For the time being, Atilay says, there are no plans for further expansion on the ABC islands.

Yet his connection to Curaçao extends beyond the business itself. Curaçao has become a hub for the company’s activities, and Atilay says he feels a personal attachment to the island. He also has a practical reason to remain involved: around 1,200 people work for him in Curaçao, and he believes they want to see him around.

Atilay is conscious of the impact tourism has on Curaçao, both economically and socially. He did, however, make one point clearly: tourism businesses have a responsibility to the people who live here.

In his view, Curaçao differs from many other Caribbean islands because most hotels, with only two exceptions, are owned by people who live on the island. Local ownership means that hotel operators pay taxes locally and have a closer understanding of the island’s challenges and the circumstances of their employees.

Corendon has invested in the communities around its hotels. The company buys from local suppliers, works with local farmers and returns residual waste to them. It features local artists in its hotels and organizes walking tours in Otrobanda.

In Scharloo, Corendon owns five monumental buildings. Three have been renovated, a fourth, the former Club Bermuda, is undergoing renovation and is expected to become the company’s headquarters in December 2026. Work on the fifth building is planned for next year.

The company’s involvement also extends to housing and sports. Corendon is looking at building social housing for its employees in the future and has supported local sports, including sponsoring Curaçao’s soccer team on its journey to the World Cup and supporting a stadium in Soto. The company also sponsors baseball. 

Atilay believes that businesses should contribute to the communities in which they operate. His approach to business is shaped in part by his position as Corendon’s majority owner. He has the freedom to pursue opportunities that interest him without having to answer to co-owners or external investors in the way a publicly traded company might.

That freedom also influences how he approaches difficult years. “If business is poor,” he says, “the company accepts the result rather than immediately resorting to layoffs.” His philosophy is that business should be enjoyable not only for him but also for the people working in the company.

He also points to the trade-offs inherent in tourism. From a purely financial perspective, he believes Corendon could earn substantially more from its hotel business by reducing its focus on flights and selling more rooms to American visitors, who he says pay higher rates. But he argues that the consequences for the island would be considerable: fewer affordable flights, much higher ticket prices and an adverse reaction from local residents. It illustrates the tension between maximizing returns and maintaining a tourism model that also serves the local population.

For Curaçao’s maritime community, Corendon’s cruise operation is one example of how the island’s tourism industry can create new links between transport, accommodation and regional destinations. Its longer-term success will depend not only on commercial performance but also on how businesses, public institutions and other stakeholders work together to ensure that the benefits of tourism extend beyond the visitors themselves.

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Curaçao to Host 2027 AAPA LATAM Conference

Curaçao will host the 2027 Latin American Congress of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) from December 1–3, 2027. The island will be presented as the next conference destination during this year’s AAPA LATAM conference in Guatemala, where Curaçao Ports Authority (CPA), in collaboration with the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB), will showcase what the island has to offer.

The presentation will combine the conference announcement with a taste of Curaçao as a destination. Delegates can expect an impressive promotional video, live folkloric dancers and a selection of local food and drinks. The hosting hotel will serve cocktails made with Blue Curaçao, alongside traditional dishes such as pan ku stobá, kabritu riba funchi, pastechi and arep’i pampuna, as well as local sweets known as boka dushi. Preparations have been underway for several months, including a visit to Guatemala by Sau Bridgewater-Chong of the Curaçao team to help prepare the presentation.

The 2027 conference is expected to attract around 700 delegates to Curaçao, bringing together port authorities and maritime industry representatives from across the Americas.

CPA has been a member of AAPA LATAM since the time of former director Agustin Diaz Sr., who was a dedicated and active member of the association. His contribution was recognized at last year’s conference in Lima, Perú, where AAPA introduced the LATAM Sustainable Development Award in his name.

AAPA LATAM represents the most important ports in the region, from Mexico to the southernmost tip of South America. As the regional affiliate of the American Association of Port Authorities, its mission is to give a strong and unified voice to Latin American and Caribbean ports, driving their development and competitiveness on the global stage.

CPA’s current director, Humberto de Castro, also serves on the AAPA LATAM board, continuing Curaçao’s involvement in the regional port community.

With the 2027 conference coming to Curaçao, CMAR encourages its members to take part and make the most of the opportunity to connect with colleagues and industry leaders from across the region and beyond.

Save the date: December 1–3, 2027 | World Trade Center Curaçao