The 2006 Cayman Jazz Fest was the most successful one to date, with a 40 per cent increase in ticket sales on the previous year.
‘The 2006 festival saw an increase in attendees, and every year since its inception increasing numbers of potential visitors have heard about the Cayman Islands because of the Jazz Festival – this one fact makes Jazz Fest a success in and of itself,’ said the Department of Tourism’s Deputy Director, International Marketing Shomari Scott.
The third annual Jazz Fest, which took place from 30 November to 2 December last year, saw approximately 1,770 tickets sold over the three days, a 40 per cent increase on the previous year, said DoT.
This would mean that just over 1,000 tickets sold for the three days in 2005, while, at the 2006 festival, 1,000 tickets sold on the Saturday night alone.
This was the last night of the festival, featuring headliner Natalie Cole.
Between the Thursday (a small intimate concert) and Friday night there were a total of 770 tickets sold.
Although, Mr. Scott said, it cannot be determined the number of on -island sales that were made to visitors, 300 individual travellers for the festival, whose reason for travel to the Cayman Islands was Jazz Fest, have been definitively identified.
Of these, 259 were tourist packages. However, Mr. Scott notes that an increasingly common trend for visitors to Caribbean jazz festivals is to individually book the package components, primarily air and accommodation, instead of buying set travel packages. This trend, fuelled by the internet, makes it increasingly more challenging to track the true number of persons who travelled specifically for the festival, he explained.
According to Mr. Scott, the upward growth in attendance over the past three years is a positive and welcomed trend with internet ticket sales up 30 per cent, wholesaler/travel agent Jazz Fest packages sales up 86 per cent, on-island ticket sales up 42 per cent, and box office sales up 40 per cent.
‘As the Cayman Islands Jazz Fest becomes more established and recognised in the jazz festival circuit, attendance numbers will continue to increase,’ Mr. Scott predicts.
Each year the organising team learns from past festivals and incorporates the lessons into the planning for the next year. This ensures continual improvements, he said.
Getting the Cayman Islands’ name out to the world is a major aspect of the festival.
‘There is no doubt that we want everyone who hears about Jazz Fest to attend it; however, if a potential visitor learns about the Cayman Islands through Jazz Fest promotions but is not able to attend – and later on decides to visit the Cayman Islands outside of the festival dates we have still succeeded with that one guest.’
As a marketing event, Jazz Fest is exciting, said Mr. Scott. ‘It gives us the opportunity to speak to consumers in the US for 12 months of the year: whether through specific jazz fest promotions, public relations coverage in the media, which is aimed at recapping one event to stimulate travel for the next or specific public relations to announce the upcoming line-up.’
PR is gained from Jazz Fest year-round and a highlight is the preview and post shows, which are 30 minute programmes aired on US cable TV in the form of performances and featuring Cayman Islands’ attractions.
‘What better way to make a personal connection and to promote Cayman by wrapping the Cayman Islands in the music that many are emotionally connected to?’ Mr. Scott asks.
Although the Ministry and Department of Tourism will always work toward maximising its return on investment, on breaking even and eventually on turning a profit, breaking even for Jazz Fest is not a primary objective, Mr. Scott asserts.
”The main goal is, and will continue to be, increasing air arrivals to the Cayman Islands in the off season or shoulder periods with the main benefits being the associated cash injection into our local economy.
‘St. Lucia has the most successful jazz festival in the Caribbean and it measures its success by the economic impact of the jazz festival on the country as a whole.’
Money spent by visitors is a welcomed stimulant to the economy as guests also spend hard cash on rental cars, hotel room nights, meals at restaurants, or shopping.
‘The true value of the Cayman Islands Jazz Fest will be realised when local tourism stakeholders can see the wave of monetary injections to the economy during the festival.’
Pageant Beach is a great venue in terms of features and characteristics necessary as a great home for the festival, Mr. Scott asserts.
He noted that the fact that Saturday night was not full, even though there were 1,000 people in attendance, is good news, because as the festival grows it will be able to accommodate a great deal more people in the same space. ‘Site logistics and natural features and boundaries will allow us to change stage positioning, lighting, refreshments, corporate hospitality suites, etc. to accommodate the growth of the festival each year.’
Already there has been a lot of coverage garnered from last year’s Jazz Fest, with more expected throughout the year and closer to this year’s event.
Media from North America spanned from lifestyle to travel to jazz publications and were exposed to Cayman by day and jazz by night. A group of European journalists who were here on a general familiarisation trip were hosted to coincide with the Jazz Fest.
The long-term vision for the Jazz Fest is to have fringe jazz events leading up to, supporting and even after the three main days of international jazz performances, Mr. Scott explained.
‘This vision provides excellent opportunities for the tourism private sector to capitalise on Jazz Fest by having jazz nights with local artists at restaurants for dinner sets, jazz events at night clubs in the evenings, jazz on the pier and teatime sets leading into the official start of the festival.’
He added, ‘The opportunities are endless for local entrepreneurs, and we are confident that as consumer confidence in Jazz Fest grows, so too will the confidence of stakeholders here in the Cayman Islands.’
Another positive element of feedback, says Mr. Scott, is that many of today’s influential jazz enthusiasts believe the Cayman Islands’ Jazz Fest to be ‘a gem of a festival’.
‘Keeping this top of mind, we aim to steadily increase attendee numbers whilst always increasing the quality of the festival and keeping true to the Cayman Islands in the process.’
Related Videos
