The Canadian market was a fruitful one for the Cayman Islands in 2011, according to the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism’s Canadian country manager Paul Minich.
“We are likely to have seen over 5,000 additional Canadian visitors which has exceeded all expectations,” he said. “The opening of the WestJet route in addition to our Air Canada service gave us the opportunity to market.
“We are focusing on Western Canada, which has a history of visitors to Cayman,” Mr. Minich said. “We are looking to develop events and campaigns to draw attention to the route. Initially we concentrated in the Toronto-Ontario area, but now we are really reaching into Canada.”
High-end events
Another success, Mr. Minich said, has been a greater engagement on social media with Canada-centric content fostering a sense of community among Canadians. Events, images and videos are essentially leading this transition from the previous newsletter format.
“We also have developed an integrated events strategy and have stepped away from trade shows to create special Cayman Islands client events,” he said. “For example, we partnered with Paul Rogalski at his Rouge restaurant, took it over and celebrated Cayman and it sold out in one day. It enables us to control the venue and the message.
“We invite our target market, socialise with the clientele and it is working very well,” Mr. Minich said. “We also did a private party at a luxury Jewellery store in Oakville, Ontario. One hundred fifteen people came to socialise and talk about Cookout; it’s not a hard sell, but an evening to discuss Cayman and media also comes out to cover. There will be more of this in 2012/13 because it is focused, relatively inexpensive for us and has a high amount of feedback.”
That store, Knar jewellery, was picked as it has a database of well-heeled clients, which was utilised to send out email invites to selected guests.
High-end swimwear
A partnership with designer Tosca Delfino has also led to the creation of a high-end line of swimwear inspired by the Cayman Islands, Mr. Minich said.
“We sponsored her at fashion week Toronto and will continue that relationship in fashion and design circles,” he said. “She is based in Toronto, but has a global perspective.
“We are identifying that we cater to more affluent travellers and are luxury, cosmopolitan, aspirational,” Mr. Minich said. “There are 175,000 households in Canada with incomes of $150,000 or more. These events enable us to be surgically precise and put on events in their location.”
Related Videos
