Why Aruba Is The Happiest Island

Sure, we’ve all heard the tag line about Aruba, the One Happy Island, but why, pray tell, is it the happiest island in the Caribbean? Is the legend really true? Let’s unpack a bit of the mystery and see what you think.

The Beginning of Happiness

In Aruba, happiness begins and ends with the Aruban people. Aruban’s are very happy, and able to bring joy to visitors and each other because there is a strong sense of community across the island. With such a small place, everyone has to live together and respect everyone else. For most Arubans that respect is taught early and often.

But Arubans aren’t happy by accident. Happiness has been built into the fabric of Aruban society from the ground up. That’s why Aruba has been studying the happiness of its people (and its tourists, as a result,) for the past five years in a study conducted by the Aruba Tourism Authority and Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida. The Happiness Index report discovered that a whopping 78% of the Aruban population is happy, and 76% express long-term satisfaction with life. So it turns out that their famous slogan of One Happy Island is more than a marketing tool — it’s a fact! And the result of their independent study also caught the attention of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. (nightspublications.com)