Island Routes to market Cayman to North America

The Cayman Islands tourism product is to be marketed to more than 9,000 travel agents by tour and excursion provider Island Routes. 

Owner David Shields told the Compass an agreement has been signed with Dolphin Cove in order to represent a range of Cayman Islands-based products and market them to international travel companies. 

“We are representing the traditionally popular products including the dolphin experience, the turtles, Stingray City, kayaking, parasailing and submarines,” Mr. Shields said. “We sell through our web-based platform and also the aggrieves programme we have with travel agents in the US and Canadian markets. The 9,000 travel agents will be entitled to commission on the products they sell.” 

A perfect fit 

In fact, Mr. Shields served as assistant director of tourism in the Cayman Islands between 1995 and 2000 and he said he knew the destination, the customer profile and the traffic well. 

“Cayman is a perfect fit for Island Routes and it has been fantastic working with Shomari Scott and the Department of Tourism,” he said. “We are really looking forward to this opportunity. It is about the Cayman people and the quality of the destination. We have a stringent, 100 point inspection and review process and of course it is important that there is a high level of insurance compliance. We have now gone through that procedure and are ready to represent the quality of the Cayman Islands.” 

History and nature 

Discussions have taken place with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, he revealed, about how Island Routes could assist in representing the cultural aspect and the flora and fauna of Cayman. 

“It is not just sand and sea, there is a rich history too. We have discussed things like the Botanical Gardens and Pedro St. James to see how we can represent this history to the travel community,” Mr. Shields said. 

He said the company is active in Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas and that further Caribbean expansion was set for 2012. 

“Our aim is to be the premier tour and excursion company of the region, offering the ultimate in experiences,” he said.