KRALENDIJK- Although various parties within and around the Executive Council of Bonaire consistently denied having any knowledge of the construction Sunset Beach Resort between Eden Beach and Chogogo Resort, the granting of a permit for the Resort in question seems to only be a matter of time.  

Although the owners of the planned for months have been advertising the resorts, in among others  the Dutch newspaper Financieel Dagblad (FD), the Executive Council consistently stayed mum on the project and even denied having any concrete knowledge about it. innocence.

A high-ranking employee of the BC publicly questioned reports in Bonaire.nu ‘because there is no permit’.

Thinking stage?

At the end of May 2021, the Executive Council issued a press release stating that it ‘couldn’t say anything yet’ about the construction of the Resort, as the project in question would still be in the ’thinking phase’. “Bonaire not only has an entrepreneurial community, but also attracts planners from outside the island. Certainly when it comes to, for example, the development of a site or a larger structure, some are curious what the Executive Council thinks of a certain initiative. However, it is not up to the Execuctive Council to respond to plans that are still in the thinking phase,” according to Island Governor Edison Rijna.

Last week, however, an overview was published by the government of Bonaire, with pending permit applications. This list also includes a permit application for the plot 4-D2936 for the construction of ‘a resort with 106 apartments, a restaurant, casino and a swimming pool’.

Small and exclusive

Bonaire.nu, along with many others, has publicly requested the Executive Council to indicate how a new resort, of this size, fits into the policy of what has been dubbed a ‘small and exclusive’ as the desired future for Bonaire’s tourism. Concrete mention of the ‘small and exclusive’ is made in the Tourism Recovery Plan, among other things.

It can only be hoped that once the permit has been issued, the BC will still make the effort to explain to the residents of the island, how the development of the resort fits in with its Small & Exclusive policy, to which much lip service has been given to date. 

A recent study by Tourism Corporation Bonaire, shows that the number of rooms on Bonaire will increase by about 65% in the coming 2 – 3 years, if all accommodation in preparation is indeed realized.