MDATT

to partner in the marketing. “Let’s say we’re going to spend X amount of money in Toronto and reach out to codes where the recipient makes over $150,000 per year.We believe that allows them to travel and enjoy the experience.Then,we encourage our airline part- ners to show that they have a convenient flight from that area and, hopefully, offer some type of special and make sure people know it’s available. We also ask local partners on the island to pro- vide info–either digital or print–with some type of offering. So, you’re in your office and see the Cayman Islands advertised, then you see an airline come behind it that says,‘We fly out of Toronto,’ then all of a sudden you see the Ritz offering a free meal if you come to Cayman.We start max- imizing the effect of everybody’s marketing bud- get.That’s why we’re successful. “I attribute our tourism growth to a combina- tion of things.Number one: the global economy is stronger than it was, so we’ve taken advantage of more people travelling.Number two: we have fine-tuned our marketing, realizing we had to penetrate markets that we have an airline service flying into.The majority of our tourism comes from the eastern U.S. and Canada–it makes sense.We need half a million visitors and there are 400 million people for us and our stake- MINISTRY OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, TOURISMAND TRANSPORT - CAYMAN ISLANDS holders to reach out to in that area.” BVM: Is tourism aiding the Caymans’ employ- ment rate? Minister Kirkconnell: “This is a unique chal- lenge. Our country has been extremely success- ful in the financial industry in providing educa- tion.We have the highest standard of education in the region, and the highest per capita income. Our job is to provide the skill set opportunity with an understanding that tourism is a tre- mendous job provider.We provide a scholar- ship for our local hospitality school for anyone who wants to participate, and also for some of the absolute top-tier hospitality schools in the world, starting with Johnson & Wales - full