Curacao: Small Caribbean island offers big bailout to Americans
It seems everyone today is upset about the government bailout of AIG and having taxpayer dollars go to paying executive bonuses, leaving us regular folk to wonder, “Who’s going to bail us out?”
The answer is Curaçao.
That’s right, the little island in the Caribbean with the funny name wants to give you a bailout of up to – get this – half a million dollars.
So what do you have to do to qualify for this bailout? Run a Fortune 500 company into the ground? Swindle retired people out of their life savings? Give people loans to buy houses they can’t afford?
No. All you have to do is answer a question about Curaçao.
Now, that may not be the easiest thing for many Americans to do. As Andre Rojer points out, “Curaçao is not the most popular island.”
Rojer is the marketing director for Curaçao Tourism Corporation – North America. He says Americans he talks to often have no idea where or what Curaçao is, sometimes putting it in another country, like Brazil, or confusing it with Venezuela’s capital city, Caracas.
Curaçao tourism officials like Rojer have found it difficult to sell their island’s charm in the face of this knowledge deficit.
“We kind of felt that we lacked name recognition,” he says. “We needed some brand awareness in the United States.”
With the help of New York City PR firm Hill & Knowlton, Curaçao hit upon the bailout idea, offering treasure from the Caribbean’s hidden treasure.
“We have to be creative with our investment,” explains Rojer.
Starting today (March 16), Curaçao will be giving away a free trip for two to the island each day for the next 70 days. Winners will receive free airfare from anywhere in the United States to Curaçao and five nights free at an island hotel.
To get in the running for this prize, you have to visit curacaotreasure.com and answer a multiple-choice question about the island.
What about the half million dollars? It’s the grand prize in an on-island treasure hunt this August. Anyone who registers at the website over the next 70 days could be one of 10 people selected at random to participate.
“In these tough economic times, the island of Curaçao is actually doing well,” says Brenda Benjamin, Curaçao Tourist Board director of marketing. “The Hidden Treasure Campaign is our little island’s way of a providing a big bailout for U.S. travelers.”
“It’s quite exciting and creative the way it’s been put together,” adds Rojer. “We’re all very excited about this.”
Even if you’re not one of the lucky winners, Curaçao still has a bailout offer for you.
“We just developed a program called Curacao Now,” explains Rojer.
He says anyone booking a trip to the island before July 1 will get $100 back by check in the mail for travel between Aug. 15 and Dec. 15. Additionally, visitors to Curaçao during this time period will receive a free night at one of 18 participating hotels and $140 credit for food and beverage purchases.
Source: examiner.com
3 prisoners escape Curacao prison after guards briefly taken hostage
WILLEMSTAD, Curacao —
Four convicts escaped from the Bon Futuro prison on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, officials said Tuesday.
The four prisoners, ranging in ages from 20 to 24, were serving terms for attempted murder and armed robbery. They apparently escaped Tuesday when two guards were briefly taken hostage by three other prisoners.
The guards were not injured during the melee, according to police spokesman Reginald Huggins, who said the brief hostage-taking was most likely a diversion to help the other men flee the prison’s high-security Block 7, he said.
Residents in the low-income Koraal Specht neighborhood where the prison is located were urged to watch for the men, who are considered dangerous.