As Delta Air Lines Inc. evaluated its rapidly expanding Caribbean route map, the Dutch Antilles island of Curacao stuck out as one of the few remaining hotspots in the region without a Delta flight. 

But before Atlanta’s premier carrier could approach Curacao officials, the island brought a delegation to Atlanta and made a very convincing case for a nonstop flight linking the business capital of the Southeast and the economically diverse island, Chris Floistad, Delta’s general manager of network planning for Latin America, told GlobalAtlanta.

“There aren’t very many islands left untapped (by Delta),” Ms. Floistad said.  “In fact, had Curacao not contacted Delta, we would have contacted Curacao.”

On Dec. 22, less than a year after the public/private partnership of hoteliers, government tourism employees and airport officials first approached Delta, the Atlanta airline will offer weekly nonstop service to the island, which is some 30 miles off the coast of Venezuela but is owned and governed by the Netherlands.

Within Delta’s goal of expanding internationally, the Caribbean market has been popular niche, and Delta has taken advantage of Atlanta’s relative proximity to the Caribbean Sea, Ms. Floistad said.

She added that although summer has traditionally been a low season for tourism in the Caribbean, families are beginning to see its islands as family-friendly vacation destinations, leaving fall as the region’s only slow tourism period.

Tourism hasn’t traditionally been Curacao’s bread and butter, and that’s part of its draw, according to Mark Towery, managing director of Atlanta-based Geo Strategy Partners, which does economic development, market research and consulting work in overseas nations. 

Mr. Towery, who has traveled to Curacao more than 30 times, said that the island’s European influence and strong economy—with hospitals, an oil refinery and a sophisticated financial sector—have kept it from being totally reliant on tourism like some islands in the Caribbean. 

“Curacao is not just a big long beach with sand and tiki huts,” Mr. Towery said. “It’s a diversified economy with a very high per capita income, so the feeling in going to Curacao is as a visitor, not a tourist.”

Nina Truman, an account manager with marketing company Hill & Knowlton SAMCOR, who promotes Curacao from her firm’s New York office, agreed. She said that only about 15 percent of Curacao’s gross domestic product is generated by tourism.

Only about five years ago did the government get serious about bringing in American tourists to supplement the mostly European vacationers who come to experience the secluded, cove-like beaches, art museums, restaurants and 17th century Dutch architecture, which earned the island designation as a UNESCO world heritage site, Ms. Truman said. 

With the new marketing focus have come numerous recent developments in the hospitality industry that have given the island the hotel capacity it needs to begin marketing in the U.S. in earnest, Ms. Truman said.

Construction is underway on six new hotels, including some American chains like Hyatt and Renaissance, promising nearly a thousand new rooms by 2009.  Five existing resorts are investing $26 million in renovations that will add a collective capacity of 252 rooms at completion, Ms. Truman said.

Curacao, the most populous of the “ABC” Netherlands Antilles island chain including Aruba and Bonaire, is even more ethnically diverse than it is economically.

Within its 134,000 or so inhabitants, 55 nationalities are represented, and four languages—English, Spanish, Dutch and native Papiamento—are commonly spoken on the island.

Tourism officials in Curacao credit the recent rediscovery of this cultural and historical heritage with fueling a recent resurgence in tourism.  Although American arrivals are down a few percentage points so far this year, the month of June showed a 16 percent increase over the same month last year.  Also in June, cruise ship arrivals grew about 60 percent over June 2006, according to press releases.

Mr. Towery said that one of the main hurdles Curacao faces with regard to its American marketing plan is lack of awareness. 

One factor that serves to lessen ignorance about Curacao is that the island’s Little League baseball teams are always among the world’s best and frequently perform well in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. The Curacao team from Willemstad, the capital city of the Netherlands Antilles, won the world championship in 2004.

Many Atlantans might know Curacao for a different baseball connection.  The island is the homeland of longtime Atlanta Braves star center fielder Andruw Jones, who recently lapsed into free agency after 10 years with the team. 

Ms. Floistad acknowledged that Mr. Jones’ name has probably helped the island, but she was quick to give credit to shrewd marketing plans by Caribbean nations for substantial shifts in awareness.

She and Ms. Truman agreed that Atlantans fit the Curacao Tourism Board’s target market well.

A luncheon featuring Eugene Rhuggenath, Curacao’s commissioner of tourism and economic affairs, will be hosted at the World Trade Center Atlanta Nov. 12 at 11:30 a.m. to give companies an outlook for business opportunities in the island’s growing tourism industry.

The luncheon is co-sponsored by the World Trade Center, Aqualectra, a utilities company in Curacao, and Marubeni Corp., an investor supporting Aqualectra and other economic development initiatives on the island, according to Mr. Towery.

Geo Strategy Partners does economic development work on behalf of both Aqualectra and Marubeni.

Attendees can register to win two tickets on the Delta flight to Curacao.