SANTA BARBARA, Curaçao — Prime minister and Minister of General Affairs of Curaçao Gilmar Pisas led members of his Cabinet in a warm reception for the Dutch-speaking island’s newest resort, the 351-room Sandals Royal Curaçao, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony heralding its historic official opening here Friday.

Declaring “Bon bini”, in the local Papiemento language, Pisas hailed the arrival of Sandals’ 16th Caribbean resort — the first outside of the English-speaking region — as “a wonderful and long awaited day for Curaçao”, expressing confidence that Sandals would grow the island’s tourism with its powerful brand and world-class product.

“This new touristic product will help to create the competitive advantage we need and provide jobs for Curasolenos,” he said, and noted that some 810 local residents had already been employed at the new resort which began receiving its first guests two days before.

Prime Minister Pisas said he hoped the presence of Sandals would open up Curaçao, an autonomous country within the kingdom of the Netherlands, to the coveted American tourist market, an acknowledgement that the bulk of visitors came currently from Europe.

“We are extremely happy to have Sandals here and hope that you will expand and grow and that you’ll remain here for many years to come,” Pisas said before being taken on a tour of the high points of the 44-acre property by executive chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts Adam Stewart.

In his own remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Stewart said Sandals was extremely pleased to open its first resort in Curaçao, which was years in the making and described it as “a stunning island of great beauty and unbelievable people”.

Stewart paid tribute to his late father and Sandals founder Gordon “Butch” Stewart, disclosing that the elder Stewart had a great admiration for the people of Curaçao developed during the time when he worked for Curaçao Trading Company.

“It’s a great honour to now share this incredible destination with the world… Today is also bittersweet as I wish my father and our late founder, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, could have been here to see this dream of our family’s become a reality,” said Stewart.

He traced the history and growth of Sandals which his dad started in 1981 and took to five other Caribbean islands before Curaçao, confidently predicting that, as it had done everywhere else, Sandals would make Curaçao a household name, increase airlift into the island and grow its tourism exponentially.

Anticipating a great future in the Dutch island, Stewart said: “I have found the people of Curaçao to be smart, committed, dynamic, full of life and personality. That is the bedrock of what the world’s best demands…”

Stewart used the opportunity to laud the partnership between Sandals Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sandals and Beaches Resorts, and top Dutch football club, the 122-year-old AFC Ajax, to launch a project called Future Goals, a movement to encourage the next generation to play and enjoy football.

Describing football as the “soul of the Caribbean”, Stewart said the programme creatively turns fishing nets sourced from the ocean and plastic waste into colourful football goals and would focus on the power of football as a vehicle to train children with life skills, while learning the importance of taking care of their communities and the natural resources of the island.

Sandals Foundation is working with local partners such as Limpi, a plastic recycling company focused on manufacturing the goals from fishing nets and plastic waste, along with Favela Street, a foundation that aims to create a new generation of role models through the power of football.

Heidi Clarke, executive director of the foundation who said her family had first landed in Curaçao in the 1800s, told the audience that every dollar contributed by Sandals guests went straight to the communities, allowing the work of the 13-year-old foundation to change lives through community, educational and environmental projects.

Ground-breaking General Manager Kevin Clarke, who rose from a job as a waiter at Sandals Negril, welcomed the attendees, saying: “Having been on this beautiful island for almost two years now, I am still in total awe of how vibrant and colourful the culture and the experiences are and the warm and welcoming nature of its people.

“While I am still learning the traditions and cuisine and all things Curaçao, the welcome from the prime minister, other government leaders, industry stakeholders, the communities making up this beautiful Dutch isle, and our new additions to the Sandals team of employees, have been truly exceptional.”

Sandals Chief Executive Officer Gebhard Rainer said the current investment in Sandals Royal Curaçao was just the beginning. He pledged that together Sandals and the Curaçao Government and people would “make tourism and hospitality in this country the next big thing”.

He thanked the State agencies and the Sandals Caribbean team member development group comprising the “best of the best” of Sandals who were pulled from all islands in the Caribbean where the chain has resorts — Antigua, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Turks and Caicos — to transfer knowledge, “Sandalise” the team in Curaçao and make the hotel a reality.

“That shows Caribbean community,” Rainer said in welcoming the new team members who had been “brought into the soul of Sandals”.

Blessings were pronounced by Rev Father Morrison Laporte, parish priest of the Catholic Church of Suffisant, while other remarks were made by Nathaly Harms, evening duty manager, Sandals Royal Curaçao, whose son also joined the staff of the resort after hearing her talk about her experience at the hotel.