Entre Nous is the bi-weekly newsletter from the Tourism Corporation Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. In this newsletter you will find the accomplishments of TCB in Bonaire, North America, South America and Europe.

We hope that you will read it with pleasure and if you have something that you think is relevant for the tourism sector to know just fax it to 8408 or email to: tcb@bonairelive.com.

• LOCAL REPORT
  1. Bonairean surfer won first prize
  2. Bonaire Special Olympics goes E
  3. Soul of Bonaire
  4. Foot Patrol
  5. Police Report (interview with Bonaire's Public Prosecutor)
  6. Owner of "Den Laman" restaurant passes away
• NEWS BITS
  1. Beach progress report
  2. Bonaire's Living Treasure- Winfred Dania
  3. Travel writer's visits
  4. Sighting of whale sharks
• TCB WORLD WIDE
• TCB- NYC Report
  1. News Bits
  2. The International Adventure and travel show Chicago, February 18-21, 2000 (Travel agent Luncheon update)
  3. CTO Chapter Dinner Seminars/Presentations
  4. Beneath the Sea (Dive Show in New-Jersey)
• TCB-EUROPE Report
  1. News Bits
  2. Shows/Seminars (Boot Düsseldorf -Germany - Jan 22 through 30, 2000)
  3. Public Relations
• TCB- SOUTH AMERICA Report
  1. Venezuela ( Avoir flights to Bonaire starts March 1st, 2000)
  2. Colombia (Anato Trade Show, February 22-24, 2000)
  3. Argentina
• UPDATES FROM THE TOURISM SECTOR
  1. Kon Tiki Beach Club --- New Menu--
• CALENDAR OF EVENTS

REMINDER: Don't forget to wish your love ones a Happy Valentines Day on Monday (14 February)

LOCAL REPORT

Bonairean surfer won first prize:

Elton Frans, a 15 years old Bonairean surfer, has won the first prize of the windsurfing competition at the Curacao International Regatta. Bonairean surfers have won all the prizes in the junior category and also the second and third place in the senior category. The Bonairean surfers have participated in the most of the race competitions, however, due to school obligations they couldn't attend the long distance venues.

Bonaire Special Olympics Goes E

The Bonaire Special Olympics Program has gone E. E bay that is. The well-known auction site will be offering a Fantasy Vacation for two in the next few months. The package will include all expenses, including air, lodging, meals, diving, sight seeing and any thing any visitor would desire. Just about everything has been sponsored to date. A complete donor list will be available for the next issue of Entre Nous. The package has a net value of approximately $3500. Keep an eye on the web and get your bids in!

The Soul of Bonaire

Some say the women of the village of Rincon are the soul of Bonaire. When the Women's Club of Rincon wanted to celebrate their 25th anniversary last December they put on a Rincon Market Day. It was so successful that they decided to have one every month, and last Saturday was the first one. It not only was a commercial success but a cultural one as well. The warm spirit of the island was evident in the faces of the buyers and sellers.

Just about every important politician including the Prime Minister of the Antilles, Miguel Pourier, himself a Rinconero, was at the opening. The formal speeches were set against a background of music and shoppers.

Everyone enjoyed a little bit of old Bonaire. You could skip blatant commercialism for awhile. It was a real Bonairean event with Bonaireans buying and selling to Bonaireans and a few tourists. But it is an event any visitor to Bonaire would rank up there with his/her best island experiences. There's music with ladies in traditional dress selling wonderful things. There are over 25 stands selling local food: sweets, pastechis, krokets, fish soups, fried fish. The LVV (Agriculture Dept.) sells plants and fertilizers. The ATV Stanislaus group for the mentally handicapped have their decorative candles and crafts. There are fresh fruits and vegetables for sale, many locally grown. There are local handcrafts, clothes and books. People are greeting people with smiles, and everyone seems to be having a terrific time.

A special event is the walking tour of Rincon, hosted by two enthusiastic and charming ladies who were born, raised and taught school in Rincon. That's not to be missed. Not only are you getting an insider's view to the town and its hidden treasures, but the ladies themselves are special people who want to share "their Rincon" with you. In the future Market Day will be held on the first Saturday of every month, but due to Carnival in March, the date next month will be March 11. (We'll remind you about it.) To see the most, get there early and allow enough time to stroll around, sample foods, listen to musicians and chat with the people. ªL./G.D.Bonaire Reporter

There is also the opportunity to learn more about the history of Rincon by taking a WALKING TOUR through the city. For more information about walking tours in Rincon during the Rincon local market contact Maria Koeks- Sint Jago at wilmari@bonairelive.com

Foot Patrols:

The neighborhood of Amboina was very pleased to see to policemen doing their regular patrol by foot through the neighborhood. The foot patrols are a part of the reorganization being undertaken to make Bonaire safe for its citizens and visitors.

Police Report (interview):

In a recent interview with Bonaire's Public Prosecutor, Mr. B. v.d. Krabben, Entre Nous was apprised of the progress in the structure and workings of the Bonaire police and the changes that have taken place during the past year.

Until recently, the force was known as the KPNA ( Korps Politie Nederlandse Antillen). Since October of 1999 however the structure has changed. Now there are 4 divisions of Police

• Korps Politie Curacao
• Korps Politie Bonaire
• Korps Politie Windward Islands
• Specialty departments (Police School with two entities, the Arrest Team and the Fraud Team)

This new structure is much more flexible and the police are able to react better to assist the public. There is regular communications between Bonaire's Police Chief, the Lt. Gov. and the Public Prosecutor's offices.

Furthermore a lot of tasks that are being performed now by policemen/women will be taken over by "civilians". This will free up the police to concentrate on the real issues. Over and above that, more policemen will be hired as well. It is the expectation that by the end of this year there will be a total of 66 police officers and 60 non uniformed workers.

From now on it will also be the officer who first took a case who will continue to be the liaison with the person filing the complaint. More serious cases where the police detectives become involved will receive a higher level of attention.

All the street units are being trained to use forensic equipment so that the police can create a database of fingerprints, photos, etc

Owner of "Den Laman" Restaurant passes away

Max Rijna, known locally as "Shon Ma", died from a sudden heart attack last Tuesday afternoon. He was the owner of the well-known Den Laman Restaurant and was active in community and civic circles. The restaurant, an institution for many years on Bonaire, had recently been undergoing a face-lift and has become the new gathering place for owners and guests of the Sand Dollar Condominium Resorts. All his friends at the Tourism Corporation Bonaire wish to extend their heartfelt condolences the family and to express their sorrow at Shon Ma's passing.

NEWS BITS

Beach Progress Report

The Beach at Windsock has been cleaned of rubble and is now ready for sunbathers, snorkelers and divers. There is plenty of soft sand and easy entries from shore. The work took almost two weeks but the results were well worth the effort. Pink Beach has also been groomed and is now more inviting and visitors can once again see the pink sand that it is known for. Additionally, many of the other shore diving sites have been cleaned and the land cleared of large stones allowing for safe and easy access.

Bonaire's Living Treasure - Winfred Dania

Acclaimed in Holland as a painter with "extraordinary dimension," gifted in "portraying the spiritual," with a "spontaneous, direct and narrative style," Bonaire artist Winfred Dania recently returned to Bonaire, having participated in the first interchange of artists between Holland and the Antilles." Winfred, well known on the island for his mystical paintings of Bonaire, lived, worked and exchanged ideas with an international group of artists from, Iran, Japan, Germany and France for 2 months in Rotterdam. He visited numerous museums and galleries, delighting in the fact that the Dutch masters, like himself, paint large canvases. Winfred had an exhibition in January in The Hague, which was attended by many Antilleans and artist friends. As a result of this visit, Winfred is now known as the "Van Gogh of Bonaire," because, according to Frans Booi, ex-director of the Bonaire Museum, "Dania, like Van Gogh, paints perfect pictures in a different style."

A number of his paintings can be seen at the Bonaire Museum. Winfred was chosen to paint the work, "Preserve Klein Bonaire," which is available in print form at gift shops around the island and at the airport. All proceeds go towards paying off the debt for the island of Klein Bonaire. Check out the Klein Bonaire website for details http://www.kleinbonaire.org/ ªL.D. Bonaire Reporter

Travel Writer's Visits

Travel writer Sharon Spence, contributing editor to GreatestEscapes.com,and her photographer husband, Warren Leib, were visiting the island of Bonaire this past week. They were gathering information for two articles to be published in "Interline Adventures" and "Nights Publications". They were hosted by

The Deep Blue View Bed & Breakfast.

Presently, travel writer Christopher Fernandez from Toronto, Canada is on island, also staying at The Deep Blue View Bed & Breakfast. He is writing an article on shore diving in Bonaire for "Waterline", a dive magazine. He specializes in writing stories about exotic diving locations.

Sightings of whale sharks

Exhilarated divers danced on the dive boats during the last week as sightings of whale sharks delighted tourists and seasoned dive staff. Thousands of small silversides, anchovies and herrings swimming in Bonaire waters during the past week attracted whale sharks and large schools of tuna and mackerel. The tiny fish formed dazzling, silvery schools called baitballs. The whale sharks dove through the mass of small fish, gathering up water, fish, and plankton in their gaping mouths. (as reported by Valerie Gast)

TCB WORLD WIDE

TCB-NYC REPORT

NEWS BITS

The Sunday January 2, 2000 edition of the Chicago Herald newspapers, a group of 27 newspapers with a combined circulation of 138,460 that are distributed in the Chicago, IL metro area, included a placement listing the top 10 dive destinations in the world. Bonaire was included as the fifth best destination and only one other Caribbean destination was included on the list. The list was compiled for the web site www.greentravel.com where information on Bonaire can be found. It's great to see -- in print and on the Internet for the world to see -- that Bonaire is still considered one of the best dive destinations in the world!

THE INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE AND TRAVEL SHOW CHICAGO, FEBRUARY 18-21, 2000

TRAVEL AGENT LUNCHEON UPDATE:

On Friday, February 18th, Bonaire will be sponsoring a luncheon for 300 Travel Agents at the Convention Center from 12:00pm-2:00pm.

As it is the first of its kind at this show, Bonaire will have the eyes and ears of 300 travel agents! The luncheon will give participating resorts, tour operators and airlines unparalleled access to the agents and the opportunity to showcase the Bonaire product.

To date, TCB has obtained complimentary airline tickets from Air Jamaica and is waiting to hear from Air ALM and Air Aruba. Buddy Dive Resort, Captain Don's Habitat, Plaza Resort Bonaire and Sand Dollar Condominium Resorts have graciously given one-week hotel stays for two as prizes for our raffles and Sand Dollar's also includes the Bonaire Adventure Package for two.

CTO CHAPTER DINNER SEMINARS/PRESENTATIONS

TCB-NYC was in Cleveland, Ohio on February 8th hosting a CTO Northern Ohio Chapter dinner and presentation. There were 90 agents in attendance and while most of them were familiar with mass-market destinations, they gave us their undivided attention because this was the first time Bonaire had visited their area. Materials distributed were the new Vacation Planners, Travel Guides, additional Bonaire Maps, and Airline Schedule Flyers.

Upcoming CTO Chapter Dinner Presentations are:

Atlanta, Feb, 22nd, New York City, March 16th, and Greater Detroit, March 29th

We once again extend an invitation to all hoteliers, tour ops, dive operators, and airlines to join us or send product information.

BENEATH THE SEA,

DIVE SHOW in NEW JERSEY

Just a friendly reminder that the dates of this show are March 24th -28th. If you are still interested in exhibiting, please contact Exhibits@BeneathTheSea.org

TCB- EUROPE REPORT

News Bits

At the moment TCB-Europe is in full swing preparing the various shows in February and March 2000.

Those are: Duikvaker, Utrecht, The Netherlands and ITB Berlin, Germany

SHOWS/SEMINARS

Boot Düsseldorf -Germany - Jan 22 through 30, 2000

Bonaire, once again participated at the Boot dive show in Germany. We had a display in the Dutch Caribbean Travel Center booth. In our estimation, the show was very well attended, surpassing last year. The weekdays were especially busy compared to previous shows. The consumers who passed by already had in mind a holiday to the Caribbean and were interested about learning more of Bonaire. Many were prepared to make a booking on the spot! From the private sector in attendance at the show were Lions Dive Bonaire, Dive Inn, Plaza Resort Bonaire, Captain Don's Habitat, and Buddy Dive Resort

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Bruid en Bruidegom (Bride and Groom):

We are in the process of dealing with Bruid en Bruidegom concerning some extra promotions in their magazine. We have just finalized that we will have one full page ad featuring a contest on Bonaire in the summer edition. We are working on some extra promotions in this magazine as well.

Meridian

We have arranged the same idea of a contest in this magazine as well and are very pleased that we have been able to reserve two full pages for this purpose. Further details follow as we are also working on a Press visit for an article.

Dinners Club Magazine Germany

This magazine for the card holders of Diners Club, published an article about the ABC islands. It consisted of 6 full color pages with beautiful pictures. The article gives the readers the following information: Diving, Dive Plus, Nature, Accommodations, Restaurants and general information.

TCB- SOUTH AMERICA REPORT

VENEZUELA

News Bits

The tourism market is awakening due to the coming Carnival and Easter Seasons. The enthusiasm remains high in spite of the uncertainty of the travel agencies regarding the re-adjustment in the percentage of the international flights commission brought to the table by the major American airlines. Air ALM, will maintain the 10% commission structure for travel agents.

Tourism Edition

The well-known newspapers El Nacional and El Universal already have dates for the special tourism editions where Bonaire appears together with the island hotels. The dates for these editions will be the 20th of February for El Nacional and the 20th of March for El Universal.

AVIOR

As was mentioned in the last edition of Entre Nous, this small Venezuelan airline is indeed interested in operating the route to Bonaire starting the first of March. The airplanes will be Beachcraft with 19 seats and will offer daily flights, except Saturdays, on the following schedule:

Caracas Bonaire 14:15 / 14:50 Bonaire Caracas 15:15 / 15:50

AVIOR is already flying to Aruba and Curacao (from Caracas and other cities in Venezuela) We're looking forward to receiving AVIOR flights in our Flamingo Airport.

CARNIVAL SEASON ( March 03 / 07 )

Our Venezuelan divers are yearning to dive in the open ocean, therefore they are getting ready to visit Bonaire again. Among the groups are 33 divers from "Caribbean Reef" who will be staying at Captain Don's Habitat. Also Diver's Center is taking a group of approximately 35 divers to Caribbean Court. Chichiriviche Divers is seeking hotel accommodations as well.

COLOMBIA

Our delegation is again visiting the tourism market of Colombia to attend the ANATO trade show that will be held between the 22 and 24 of February. We will dedicate these days to the show and be offering Training Seminars for Travel Agents, where, in cooperation with the Hotels and the Airlines (Avianca and Air Aruba) we will teach everything about Bonaire. The newspaper El Tiempo will have a special edition where Bonaire not only will be mentioned but also will have an advertising section co-sponsored by the following Tour Operators: Turismo ABC, Asturismo, and the Hotels Harbour Village, Plaza Resort and Aqua Viva.

ARGENTINA

We have just received an e-mail from our friend Roxana Goronas, journalist and diver. She has been actively writing about Bonaire in the newspaper LA NACION and the magazine BUZOS. Roxana came to Bonaire on a Fam Dive with Buddy Dive and fell in love with the Marine Park, the pure air and the serenity she found on the island and mainly she fell in love with the people of Bonaire. Congratulations Roxana!!

NEWS FROM THE TOURISM SECTOR

Kon Tiki Beach Club New Menu

The Kon Tiki Beach Club has a new menu. Kon Tiki, located on Lac Bay, is set among the mangroves and is one of the best places for stargazing. The menu just contributors to the romantic setting. Dinners are artfully presented and taste as good as they look! You can call them at 717-5369 or visit at http://www.bonairenet.com/kontiki/.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

For a complete calender of events visit our website at http://www.infobonaire.com/

Note: Dates are subject to change. A full cruise ship schedule is available upon request at the TCB Office. If you have any additions, changes or corrections to this planner please send these to S. Pourier via fax (8408) or e-mail: statistics@tourismbonaire.com - thank you.

*To unsubscribe or subscribe send an e-mail to: tcb@bonairelive.com

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Tourism Corporation Bonaire
Kaya S. Bolivar 12
Bonaire
Dutch Caribbean
Tel: 599-7-8322/ 8649
Fax: 599-7-8408
E-mail: tcb@tourismbonaire.com
Website address: http://www.infobonaire.com/
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