Aruba has introduced a $20 “sustainability fee” for visitors arriving by air to the island. The new fee went into effect at the beginning of the month and is designed to support a number of projects aimed at enhancing and improving sustainability efforts on the island.

What you need to know: The sustainability fee will be charged through the online Embarkation & Disembarkation (ED) Card platform while one is completing the ED card to enter Aruba. (To fill out this card, visit www.edcardaruba.aw.) This must be completed before airline check-in; fees cannot be paid upon arrival to the destination.

Specifically, the fee will be used to upgrade the existing sewage water treatment plants and infrastructure as well as building a new, larger one to handle future demand. This project is being led by Aruba Wastewater Sustainable Solutions.

This fee comes in addition to the $3 environmental tax that visitors to the island have been paying. The environmental tax is a government tax for environmental purposes, while the sustainability fee is a specific fee to structurally fund the sewage water treatment plants and infrastructure. 

Note: Children under the age of eight are not required to pay the fee, nor are repeat guests who have already paid to visit Aruba in that same calendar year. The fee only applies to those arriving by air, so cruise passengers are exempt, as well. The fee, according to the Aruba Tourism Authority, will be permanent.

For more information, visit www.aruba.com/sustainability-fee.