A-level students of Cayman Prep and High School got right into the heart of the tourism industry and arranged a trip to Cayman Brac as part of their studies.
The group of 13 included six hosts and five paying customers, said student Erica Burke.
“On the first day we went to the Layman E. Scott Senior High School, which is Cayman Brac’s middle and high school, where we toured the school and gave a presentation to the Year 9 and 10 classes about what the subject Travel and Tourism is for A Level and the differences between the two islands. After visiting the school and heading to lunch we embarked on the free island tour provided by the Sister Islands Tourism Association with two of the local tour guides – Greg and Keeno.
“During the tour we explored the caves, went to the famous bluff where we saw and learned about the booby birds, explored the iron shore, came across the ‘bubble house’ and gained knowledge of some of the local flora and fauna as we travelled along the trip. During the night, we set up our own bonfire at the public beach where we shared stories and had smores. On the second day, we kayaked and snorkelled on the beach of the Brac Reef Beach Resort, then after having lunch at the hotel and checking out we went to a local souvenir store and then climbed to Peter’s cave to watch the sunset.”
Traditional culture
Ms. Burke said the students had learned a lot from their trip. For example, they discovered the difference between Grand Cayman’s “more sophisticated, businesslike atmosphere” and the Brac’s more local, subtle traditional culture.
“Grand Cayman’s main tourism usually comes directly to the island as we have the cruise ship dock and direct flight to island, Cayman Brac’s tourists travel through the larger island before getting to them,” she said. “There’s also a difference between the experiences. In Grand Cayman, you have more of a typical jewellery, souvenir and beach experience, while in the Brac you get more of an adventurous experience through exploring the caves, diving at world renowned areas and experiencing the local culture.”
The trip was sponsored by the Department of Tourism, which paid hotel and rental car costs and Cayman Airways and the Alexander Hotel offered discounts. The students raised money through sponsorship, bake sales and popcorn sales.
“Our course work is based on planning and running our own travel and tourism event,” she said. “We have to provide our customers with the full tourism experience as we learn how to be successful event planners. While carrying out the event, we learnt how to develop our communication and team working skills with people we have never worked with before as we faced new tasks.
“We struggled but learned the value of patience, listening to others and working with people and things outside of out comfort zone and this provided us with our ability to evaluate of event and the things we learned or improved in,” she said. “Through learning and developing these skills, we are better prepared for the future and the world of work.”
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