Business View Caribbean - Sept. / Oct. 2014

24 %XVLQHVV 9LHZ ‡ &DULEEHDQ ² 6HSWHPEHU ‡ 2FWREHU &D\PDQ ,VODQGV sports visitor typically brings along friends and family, representing a real opportunity for us to share our tourism messages and interact with this demographic. The initial impact is a cash injection to the economy, but in the process we are also developing relationships with people who will likely return as a result of their positive on-Island experience. In addition to innovative destination marketing and the facilitation of sports tourism, the Cayman Islands have also bolstered our dive tourism product through the creation of an artificial reef. In January 2011, the Kittiwake – a decommissioned 251-foot, five-deck naval vessel that was once used by the United States Maritime Administration – was intentionally sunk off Seven Mile Beach to create a new and exciting dive site. The sinking of the Kittiwake attracted global media attention and CNN, NBC, CBC, the Associated Press, Yahoo and a host of major networks and publications from New York to New Zealand and Los Angeles to London all covered the event, bringing the Cayman Islands to an audience of several million around the world. The Kittiwake has become a habitat for a wide variety of marine life, thus enhancing the biodiversity in Cayman’s waters. It continues to attract international media coverage and having exceeded all visitation projections, it is now one of our Islands most popular dive and snorkel sites. BV: Can you offer insight on particular challenges you’ve confronted and overcome to strengthen tourism? KIRKCONNELL: Over the last decade, the Cayman Islands tourism industry has been impacted by a slew of natural and man-made disasters including Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Hurricane Paloma in 2008, the economic recession in 2008/2009 and the volcanic ash cloud which descended over Europe in 2010. In the face of such adversities, the Cayman Islands has shown its resilience by focusing our efforts on the attainment of three key objectives. These can be summarized as: 1) stimulating the market through targeted marketing and promotions, 2) delivering excellence by raising service standards, and 3) ensuring sustainability by encouraging and facilitating more Caymanians to become involved in the hospitality industry. By closely working towards these principles, the Cayman Islands tourism industry is bouncing back, and is on target to achieve several of our established goals. Notwithstanding, we realize that even with the successes that have been accomplished it is not business as usual. With one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region and a first-world infrastructure, our Cayman Islands tourism product is unique, and we recognize that as a destination we have a great deal of added-value experiences to provide to our visitors. We therefore are committed to continually strengthening our efforts to ensure that our presence in the market is maintained and we remain cautiously optimistic that our innovative strategies and tactics will continue to pay dividends. BV: What are the challenges, what are the opportunities? KIRKCONNELL: On reflection, despite the mammoth challenges that we have faced and continue to grapple with in some areas, there can be no doubt that we have also been successful in regards to stay over tourism. In the four year period ending November 2013, our air arrivals increased for 43 of those 48 months and May, June, July and October registered the best stay- over arrivals we have seen in 10 years. From a government perspective, a significant challenge which can also be viewed as opportunity is establishing the building blocks which are necessary to support the continued growth of the tourism industry well into the future. In addition, we look forward to an increase in our hotel room stock from the new Kimpton Hotel which is expected to come on stream in 2016; new opportunities for Caymanians to become involved in tourism through the provision of hospitality training courses and apprenticeships, and the development of a new pillar to our economy provided by the provision of medical tourism. BV: Also, while so many often focus on Grand Cayman, can you speak to initiatives involving Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and the unique tourism potential available there?