The decision to delay work on Cayman’s new tourism plan until after the 2025 election has been met with stiff criticism from business owners like Ronnie Anglin, who are struggling amid the decline in cruise calls.
“It’s unfortunate that people see it fit to kick this can further down the road. It is something that is for the Caymanian people and especially those of us in tourism,” Anglin said.
Earlier this month, Tourism Ministry Chief Officer Stran Bodden, speaking before the Public Accounts Committee, said work on replacing the now expired tourism plan has been put on hold until the end of the 2025 general election and the subsequent installation of a tourism minister.
He said the ministry and the Department of Tourism had decided instead to extend the former National Tourism Plan, which expired in December.
Anglin, co-owner of Captain Marvin’s water sports, did not agree with this approach, saying the industry is hurting and needs attention now, not later.
The plan, he said, is not the only issue the ministry is falling behind on. He also pointed to delays in forming a strategy for North Sound.
“They’re way behind on the task force, for instance, that they were all agreed on in the [Parliament]. I think it was 100% of [MPs] in support of putting a task force together regarding the North Sound and its use and what needed to be done there. That’s still not done,” he said.
Action needed now
Cayman Islands Tourism Association President Troy Leacock, in a previous statement, also shared concern over the lack of progress in dealing with challenges for North Sound water sports operators.
He said the task force was needed to urgently protect Caymanians who survive on revenue generated in the North Sound Wildlife Interaction Zones.
Government has faced criticism that businesses reliant on cruise tourism have been abandoned in the wake of reduced cruise calls.
Anglin said this latest move “makes that look like more of a true statement.”
“You cannot delay this thing until then. I would hate to think that the powers that be is using our industry as a scapegoat pretty much. We’re out here, we’re suffering. You need to try to do something now … election is almost a year away. Are we going to waste another 300 days trying to figure out if we should do something with our tourism product or not? Does not seem like a smart use of time,” he said.
Anglin said waiting to act is not helping those in the industry like him.
“It would be in their best interest to do something about it now than to leave it until after the election. So people can say that they didn’t do anything for tourism other than to drag it down. I mean, that’s basically my two cents on that. I don’t see the reasoning,” Anglin said.
Delay ‘unacceptable’
Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart shared Anglin’s concern, saying that the current approach to hold off until next year “is unacceptable”.
“The future of our tourism industry should not be left hanging for another 18 months. Businesses and families in the tourism sector are already suffering due to the Minister’s and Government’s inaction over the past three years,” McTaggart said in a statement over the weekend.
Ultimately, he said, the decision falls on Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan.
McTaggart did not agree with extending the expired tourism plan, since it was formulated in 2019 and did not take the pandemic into account.
McTaggart offered, as he did previously, to assist Minister Bryan in revising and updating the country’s strategic tourism plan.
“This matter transcends political divides and is a shared responsibility towards the future of our important tourism industry and the livelihoods it supports. It should not be subject to political delays. Developing a new strategic tourism plan is already overdue and cannot be postponed for another 18 months while more businesses close their doors,” he said.
Pointing to the recent closures of businesses in George Town, including the iconic Hard Rock Cafe, McTaggart stressed that the urgency of “re-imagining … our tourism and marketing strategy” cannot be overstated.
Related Videos
As far as the North side is concerned it is so over fished that there are almost no big fish there and it is not fun to scuba dive there anymore, Years ago the island was told that if there was not some kind of pier the cruise ships would stop coming. Nothing was done and now they have stopped coming.