Aruba Announces Nationwide Health and Safety Protocols Ahead of Summer Arrivals

Today, the Aruba Tourism Authority (A.T.A) and the Department of Public Health announced the 'Aruba Health & Happiness Code', a stringent cleaning and hygiene certification program that will be mandatory for all tourism related businesses across the country.

"As we prepare to reopen our borders, it is critical to evolve and innovate as a tourism destination to protect our local community and future travelers once they reach our shores," said Danguillaume Oduber, Minister of Tourism, Public Health and Sport of Aruba. "We want all visitors to feel reassured in traveling to our One happy island, knowing we worked together as a nation to implement the highest health and safety protocols through every step of their journey."

The 'Aruba Health & Happiness Code' certification will provide assurance that each business has taken every measure to offer a safe environment for employees and guests. The certification seal of approval will be displayed prominently on all tourism related businesses, and the certified businesses will also be found on the Department of Public Health website.

Aruba's health and safety protocols will provide a seamlessly secure and clean experience for visitors at every touchpoint, upon arrival in Aruba. The Aruba Airport Authority has worked with the Department of Public Health and followed World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines to implement numerous measures such as screening, temperature checks, on-site medical professionals, social distance markers and additional shields and safeguards, mandatory PPE training for all staff, and more.

As visitors depart the airport, they will find the 'Aruba Health & Happiness Code' certification seal of approval on taxis/transport and on all businesses that fall into the sectors of accommodations, food and beverage, restaurants and bars, casinos, retail shops, and tour operators.

The Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association has distributed their "Best Practices" guide to hotels which elevates the existing cleaning protocols to new norms for all areas including luggage handling, elevator safety, housekeeping guidelines, food & beverage service, casinos and more. The two pillars of the best practices guide are physical distancing and sanitation, based on the Department of Public Health of Aruba and WHO guidelines. Visitors can expect such measures as plexiglass barriers at desks, digital keys and contactless check-in, thorough disinfecting of all public spaces and rooms, and more.

These new protocols to safeguard visitors and locals will also extend to national parks and tourism attractions. Aruba's renowned Arikok National Park will adhere to the certification guidelines and is creating digital experiences to help reinforce social distancing including virtual guided tours of the park. For the first time ever, the Park will permanently ban ATVs (starting June 1) and UTVs (starting October 31) from protected areas. This will help preserve nature and limit how many people can access the park, ultimately providing a more intimate experience for visitors.

In order to receive visitors, all businesses must adhere to the new protocols and receive on-site inspection and approval from the Department of Inspection and Hygiene to be awarded with the Aruba Health & Happiness Code gold certification seal.

On May 8th, the Government of Aruba announced a tentative reopening of the borders for inbound travel scheduled between June 15 and July 1, 2020. A formal announcement will be made in the coming weeks with the official reopen date.