Since last year, Aruba has begun to open up to the European market and is even intended to have a rep in Spain. How is Aruba going to showcase itself to the world? How is it going to open up in the year 2002?

Aruba is an island currently teeming with opportunities. It's clearly showing that people who travel are always looking for calmness, resting, relaxation... and we provide travelers with that combination. We've got calmness and safety. Aruba is a small island where everybody lives in peace and happiness. That's why our slogan reads: “One Happy Island.”

Miriam, what investments is Aruba going to make in the European and the U.S. markets in the course of the ongoing year?

The U.S. market is our market, because it virtually engulfs 70% of it all. The European market provides a meager 14% and most travelers come from the Netherlands and Germany, though we're working to branch out into Spain and Scandinavia.

How are the relations between Aruba and Spanish tour operators faring? A: Last December, we made a trip to visit Spain's premiere tour operators and airlines. The impression was pretty good; we felt receptiveness all along and it seems to us we've got a chance there. That's why we want to enhance our markets and stretch our capabilities all the way to Spain, where we're going to have a representative who'll be in charge of educating travel agencies, tour operators and airlines, as well as of providing mass media with information so that they could reach out to consumers.

Where is that representative going to be stationed?

We're juggling four different options: two in Barcelona and a couple of them in Madrid. The four offers are pretty swell and we're assessing which of them is the one that suits us better right now.

We'd like to focus now on your personal life and talk about the role women play in the realm of international tourism. How do you think the situation is doing right now? Are men still in majority?

I guess there are more women in tourism and airlines as we speak. Right here at the Berlin‘s ITB, there're many women holding down stints as sales and marketing directors. I think this has changed quite a lot in the past ten years.

From a personal standpoint, this is a very sensitive and hard-to-address issue because your life as a family woman is always hit hard by many trips, countless meetings and that kind of stuff. How do you manage all that?

Well, I guess that after a couple of divorces... (laughter). It's hard because, for example, my son's birthday came around while I was here and in the middle of a meeting –because of time difference- I had to make a pause and give him a congratulations phone call. It's hard and you must make good use of every hour you spend with your family. Suddenly this is a very charming world ‘cause quality is worthier than quantity.

Do you think women's sensitivity and creativeness also stand for good foundations for a woman to be an executive, measure up to a man and even be better than him?

I believe every person, regardless of gender, is fit to take up a responsibility. It's all about character, it's all about desire and willingness. A man also has a female side and that helps him a good deal. You've got to remain focused to be able to handle a certain responsibility, in spite of what your gender might be.

Have you always been linked to the tourism world from the very beginning of your professional career?

I studied hotel management and tourism, and I've been in the tourist industry since I started working.

Always in Aruba?

I lived in Colombia for 18 years, thirteen of them working in the Aruba Office. Currently, I manage all the markets.