Business View Caribbean - December 2015 89
BV: Do the traffic numbers indicate that has resonat-
ed to the extent that you wanted it to? Has it been a
good message to drive in?
HARRIS:
Certainly we’ve had a few accolades. We
were voted in 2012 as the world’s friendliest nation
by Forbes magazine. Last year, we were voted best
Caribbean destination by Caribbean Journal. We have
a number of awards for our exceptional scuba diving,
several media outlets called Seven Mile Beach the
best beach. I think, overall, when you think of Cayman
Islands, you think of quality, you think of the many
things to do and you think of a welcoming community
that you can be a part of.
BV: Talk about the future. You’ve got a good thing go-
ing. You’ve got numbers in your favor. What sorts of
objectives do you have over the next couple of years?
HARRIS:
The Cayman Islands aim to be an engaging
destination, a leader in marketing. We know that we
have a quality product. We are one of the few destina-
tions that actually monitor our hotel accommodations.
We have a licensing structure, where all of our accom-
modations are inspected yearly, and I think that is a
competitive edge. We are able to monitor, manage and
know that there is a standard of quality that is present-
ed to our visitors. We will also continue to garner the
feedback from our visitors. Whatever they love about
the Cayman Islands, we want to hear that. But we also
want to know about the things we need to work on.
That feedback loop is extremely important to deliver
the right product, the right experience for our visitors.
And, in terms of the future, I believe that the two ma-
jor infrastructure projects with the airport and cruise
berthing will certainly position the Cayman Islands for
greatness. In the interim, with all projects, we have to
be sensitive to the impact of those initiatives, and that
is certainly our short and medium-term goals. We have
a lot of interest from developers and we gauge getting
the right product mix. When the Cayman Islands hosts
investors that approach and express an interest to de-
velop here in the Cayman Islands, we want to be at
the table to direct the conversation, so that it benefits
the type of destination that we are. As a destination
we want to be involved and support all of our partners
and to deliver on the best Cayman Islands experience
a visitor can have.
