Curaçao is achieving remarkable successes. Tourism is breaking records, investment is increasing, the construction sector is growing strongly, unemployment has fallen, and the national football team has recently reached unprecedented heights. But Curaçao needs to ask itself an uncomfortable question: how much of this success is actually being created and developed by the local population?
Curaçao’s historic qualification for the 2026 World Cup was celebrated as a tremendous national achievement. And for the Curaçao flag, there is no doubt that it is an achievement. But look beyond that. Twenty-five of the 26 players in Curaçao’s World Cup squad were born in the Netherlands. The only player born in Curaçao moved to the Netherlands as a child. These players were largely developed within the Dutch and European football systems: Dutch youth academies, professional clubs, coaches, training facilities and an extensive football infrastructure that Curaçao itself did not build.
Curaçao is therefore absolutely entitled to be proud of its national team. But it is difficult to use this success as evidence of the strength of the local Curaçao football development system. And that leads to a much bigger question about Curaçao’s economy.
Tourism is growing explosively. In 2025, Curaçao received approximately 789,000 stay-over visitors, another record year for the island. But tourists do not simply appear. International airlines provide the connections. Investors provide the capital. Dutch and other international entrepreneurs have invested in hotels, restaurants, vacation properties and tourism businesses. Workers from Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other countries help provide the workforce needed to keep a growing economy running.
That international involvement is helping transform Curaçao. And this is precisely where Curaçao needs to confront a much more difficult issue: mindset.
Curaçao needs a stronger culture of entrepreneurship, ownership, competitiveness and work. The goal cannot simply be to ask: Where can I find a job? More people should be asking themselves: What can I build? What can I sell? What can I own? What can I invest in? How can I create jobs for other people?
Curaçao has a long history of commercial activity involving Dutch, Portuguese, Jewish, Indian, Chinese and other communities. Even today, international investors and entrepreneurs continue to recognize opportunities on the island. The uncomfortable question is why more Curaçaoans do not do the same.
There is another issue that Curaçao must also be willing to discuss openly: work ethic. Among part of the local population, a serious problem has emerged regarding attitudes in the workplace. Too often, there is an attitude of complaining about everything — working hours, responsibilities, management, working conditions and expectations — rather than asking what is necessary to make a business competitive and successful.
A growing economy cannot function without reliable people who are willing to work in hotels, restaurants, construction, logistics, cleaning, healthcare and other essential sectors. This is where foreign workers are becoming increasingly important. Colombian, Venezuelan, Dominican, Haitian, Filipino and other foreign workers may arrive in Curaçao under very different economic circumstances. Some share accommodation with several other workers. They divide rent, electricity, transportation and food costs. Some send part of their income back to their families abroad. As a result, a salary in Curaçao can be economically viable under circumstances in which maintaining an independent household would be much more difficult. Economic necessity can be a powerful motivation to work.
There is another fundamental difference between a migrant who comes to Curaçao and a Curaçaoan who struggles economically on the island. Curaçaoans have the Netherlands. With a Dutch passport, it is relatively easy to leave Curaçao when circumstances become difficult.
For many foreign workers, returning to their country of origin when things do not work out economically in Curaçao may mean returning to a country with significantly fewer economic opportunities. They therefore have a strong incentive to adapt, share costs, work and make sure that the opportunity they have been given succeeds.
A Curaçaoan has another option: buy a ticket and leave for the Netherlands. That creates entirely different economic incentives. And moving to the Netherlands does not automatically solve the underlying problem. Many Curaçaoans undoubtedly build successful careers, businesses and professional lives there. Others, however, encounter serious problems related to employment, education, poverty or the justice system.
Those problems must be examined based on facts, not stereotypes. But Curaçao must nevertheless ask itself an uncomfortable question: if someone fails to build an economically sustainable life in Curaçao and subsequently experiences problems in the Netherlands as well, has migration solved the problem — or merely moved it?
Perhaps one of the clearest tests of an entrepreneurial mindset is what happens when an opportunity is literally placed in front of people. Take Curaçao’s traditional Venezuelan floating market. When the Venezuelan traders and boats disappeared, a commercial opportunity emerged for others to step in, source products and sell them. Yet, as far as we have been able to see, this did not lead to the major wave of local entrepreneurship one might have expected.
The same question can be asked when looking at markets and small-scale commercial activities in Curaçao. When these opportunities are disproportionately taken advantage of by people who come from elsewhere, Curaçao should not blame foreigners for seizing them. It should ask itself: Why didn’t we seize those opportunities ourselves?
The same question can be asked when looking at markets and small-scale commercial activities in Curaçao. When these opportunities are disproportionately taken advantage of by people who come from elsewhere, Curaçao should not blame foreigners for seizing them. It should ask itself: Why didn’t we seize those opportunities ourselves?
If someone can come to Curaçao from another country with limited resources and recognize a commercial opportunity, why do more people who were born and raised on the island not recognize those same opportunities? That is the mindset question Curaçao must confront.
The Curaçao economy is growing, and the labor market has become considerably tighter. Employment increased from approximately 66,700 people in 2022 to 71,900 in 2024, while unemployment fell from 13.1% to 7.8%. If continued growth in tourism and investment creates thousands of additional jobs that cannot be filled locally, Curaçao must be prepared to recruit workers internationally.
Workers from Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Philippines and other countries who are willing to work and contribute should be given the opportunity to participate in Curaçao’s growing economy. If Curaçao ultimately needs thousands of additional workers and the local labor market cannot provide them, economic growth should not be slowed simply because the workers needed happen to have been born somewhere else.
Workers from Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Philippines and other countries who are willing to work and contribute should be given the opportunity to participate in Curaçao’s growing economy. If Curaçao ultimately needs thousands of additional workers and the local labor market cannot provide them, economic growth should not be slowed simply because the workers needed happen to have been born somewhere else.
Businesses need employees. Hotels need staff. Construction projects need workers. Investors need to be confident that when they invest money in Curaçao, they will actually be able to operate their businesses. Economic growth will not wait until Curaçao’s mindset changes.
This creates an extraordinary opportunity for Curaçao’s future. International investors continue to arrive. Dutch and other entrepreneurs continue to recognize opportunities. Foreign workers continue to fill labor shortages. Airlines continue to expand their connections. Hotels and resorts continue to open. Tourism continues to grow.
At the same time, Curaçaoans who cannot find their place in this new economy continue to leave for the Netherlands. Curaçao could therefore become simultaneously more prosperous and increasingly international.
The problem is not that foreigners are coming. The problem arises when Curaçao’s own population does not participate sufficiently in the prosperity being created around them. Imagine an island where hotels are full, restaurants are thriving, construction is happening everywhere, international investors are making money and thousands of foreign workers are employed — while a significant portion of the Curaçaoan population continues to leave. Would that really be successful development?
Another hotel will not solve this. Another flight connection will not solve this. More Dutch investment will not solve this. Another thousand foreign workers will not solve this. If Curaçao wants its own population to become the primary beneficiaries and creators of the island’s prosperity, something deeper has to change. The mindset has to change.
Education must encourage entrepreneurship. Young people should learn about business, investment, ownership and wealth creation. Successful Curaçaoan entrepreneurs should be held up as examples. Government should make it easier to start and expand businesses. And work should be viewed as a relationship in which both employer and employee have responsibilities.
Foreign workers should not be regarded as the enemy. In many cases, they demonstrate precisely that economic opportunities already exist. Curaçao does not need fewer Curaçaoans. It needs more Curaçaoans actively participating in Curaçao as employees, professionals, entrepreneurs, investors and owners.
Foreign workers should not be regarded as the enemy. In many cases, they demonstrate precisely that economic opportunities already exist. Curaçao does not need fewer Curaçaoans. It needs more Curaçaoans actively participating in Curaçao as employees, professionals, entrepreneurs, investors and owners.
Otherwise, the island risks developing an extraordinary paradox: Curaçaoans leave the island in search of opportunities, while people from around the world come to Curaçao and discover the opportunities that were there all along.
If the answer is no, Curaçao may experience economic growth without achieving the development that matters most. The world already sees the opportunities in Curaçao. The challenge is to ensure that more Curaçaoans see those opportunities as well. And until that mindset changes, the fundamental problem will remain.
Entrepreneurs should be willing to put their best employees in front-facing roles, regardless of where they were born. If a foreign worker provides excellent customer service, that person should not automatically be assigned to clean toilets or work behind the scenes simply because local workers are expected to receive the customer-facing positions. The same principle should apply throughout the economy.
If local immigration officers at the airport consistently provide poor service, the government should be willing to attract qualified Dutch or other professionals who can raise the standard. If supermarkets struggle with indifferent customer service, they should be free to hire friendly and motivated employees — including Latin American immigrants — for cashier and other customer-facing positions. If the traditional taxi sector refuses to improve, Curaçao should be willing to allow platforms such as Uber to operate with qualified drivers, including foreign drivers where legally permitted.
These decisions will inevitably face local resistance. But protecting positions simply because someone is local does not build a competitive economy. The priority should be competence, work ethic and quality of service — not place of birth.
Supporting the local population should mean investing in education, training and development so that people can compete successfully. It should not mean lowering standards or preventing talented newcomers from advancing. A country cannot demand world-class tourism, investment and economic growth while simultaneously protecting mediocre service.
The recommendation to Curaçao’s Minister of Economic Development is simple: open the economy further. If Curaçao needs thousands of additional workers to sustain economic growth — and if the need is now around 10,000 new workers — create a controlled program to recruit them internationally. Screen candidates before they arrive. Check their backgrounds and qualifications, make legal employment a condition, and prioritize people who genuinely intend to work and contribute to Curaçao.
The recommendation to Curaçao’s Minister of Economic Development is simple: open the economy further. If Curaçao needs thousands of additional workers to sustain economic growth — and if the need is now around 10,000 new workers — create a controlled program to recruit them internationally. Screen candidates before they arrive. Check their backgrounds and qualifications, make legal employment a condition, and prioritize people who genuinely intend to work and contribute to Curaçao.
And if some Curaçaoans decide that their future lies in the Netherlands, let them pursue that future. People should be free to seek opportunities wherever they believe they can build a better life. Curaçao cannot put its economic development on hold while waiting for attitudes toward work and entrepreneurship to change. Changing an economic culture can take years — even generations.
The economy needs workers now. Businesses need staff now. Investors need confidence now. Curaçao therefore needs two strategies to be implemented simultaneously: develop a stronger local culture of work, entrepreneurship, ownership and economic independence for the next generation, while today attracting the workers, expertise, capital and international investment needed to sustain growth.
Do not let Curaçao’s economy wait for the mindset to catch up. Open the doors to people who want to work, invest, create and contribute. At the same time, give Curaçaoans every opportunity to claim a greater share of the prosperity being created on their own island.
Because ultimately, Curaçao’s future should not be determined by where someone was born. That future should be determined by who is willing to work for it, create it, invest in it and build it.