Cayman Prep & High School year 11 student Arianna Chin has been named the 2026 tourism ambassador after winning the Tourism Ambassador Speak-Off Competition at Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman on 6 May.
Chin was one of four finalists selected from the Tourism Ambassador Video Competition, joining Nyla Christian and Jada-Lee Smith of John Gray High School and Mikhaila Powell of Clifton Hunter High School.
The competition, hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Trade Development in collaboration with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, is designed to deepen students’ understanding of tourism while strengthening public speaking, critical thinking and communication skills.
In the first round, Chin presented on multigenerational travel product development, presenting three ideas to make Cayman a stronger destination for families travelling across generations.
Standing before judges and tourism officials, Chin framed her presentation with humour, describing multigenerational travel as “a chaotic family group chat where everyone is standing and grandma’s not even in it, but for some reason, she’s still making all of the decisions”.
Her proposed solution focused on what she described as ‘C.A.T.’ – culture, accessibility and technology.
On culture, Chin proposed an immersive resort experience where families could connect through Caymanian traditions, such as making crafts from silver thatch and learning how to prepare Cayman-style beef.
Her second pillar focused on accessibility, under which she proposed the standardisation of double handrails and slip-resistant surfaces at key tourism sites, the introduction of amphibious wheelchairs at public beaches, and subsidies to help public transport providers make their fleets more accessible.
“As someone who has family [with] mobility issues, I have seen firsthand how quickly a simple family outing on a multigenerational trip can become stressful,” Chin said. “We must ensure that quality time is reachable for everyone, regardless of limitations.”
Her third proposal focused on technology through a ‘Cayman Together’ app, designed to help families plan shared itineraries while also catering to different age groups, from simplified interfaces for seniors to gamified features for children and social media-style exploration for teenagers.
“Cayman Together translates the dysfunction of multigenerational travel into a harmony that would beckon families to Cayman,” she said.
The competition concluded with a mystery round, in which each of the students was asked how they would inspire young Caymanians to see tourism careers beyond hotels and tour guides.
Chin used her response to highlight tourism as a field that can include marine biology, politics, technology, destination management and marketing.
“We aren’t just hospitality workers,” she said. “We are the next generation of tourism.”
She added that tourism could make room for almost any career path.
“You could go into literally any field, anything you can dream of being; there’s a place for it in tourism,” Chin said. “You just have to find it.”
The competition was chaired by 2025 tourism ambassador Aylani Morris-Seymour, who said the programme helps young people develop a deeper understanding of tourism and the issues affecting the industry locally, regionally and internationally.
Morris-Seymour, who represented Cayman at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Regional Youth Congress in Barbados last year and placed third out of 16 regional candidates, told attendees that the experience had been transformative.
“Even though my time as your tourism ambassador is ending, my journey in tourism is just getting started,” she said.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Trade Development Gary Rutty told the finalists the event was “not just a competition” but “a celebration of talent and incredible potential”.
Rutty also announced a new international opportunity for the Tourism Ambassador Programme, saying the 2026 ambassador, along with the 2023, 2024, and 2025 ambassadors, would be invited to take part in a two-week summer immersion experience in hospitality, business and culinary arts in Switzerland.
Chin will serve as tourism ambassador for the next year and will go on to represent the Cayman Islands as junior minister of tourism at the Regional Tourism Youth Congress, which takes place during the State of the Tourism Industry Conference held in Georgetown, Guyana, in October.
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