Grand Cayman’s latest tourist offering of Boatswain’s Beach is going to be ready for the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association’s conference in two week’s time Minister for Tourism Charles Clifford confirmed yesterday.
Minister for Tourism Charles Clifford confirmed Thursday that Boatswains Beach will be ready for the Florida Caribbean Cruise Associations conference in two weeks time. |
Work is still taking place at the site but Minister Clifford assured the media at a press conference Thursday that Boatswain’s Beach will be ready for the hosting of a special night extravaganza taking place for the conference on Wednesday, 1 November.
‘Boatswain’s Beach is going to be ready. I’ve taken a keen interest in that,’ he said.
The Minister said he believed that today they were getting ready to put the water in the salt water lagoon. He added that no marine life could be put into this lagoon because the filtering system has to be allowed to operate for 30 days first. However, he said, everything else at the site would be ready on time for the event being hosted there.
The conference is to be the biggest ever hosted in the Cayman Islands, with over 1,000 delegates expected, and takes place from 31 October to 3 November.
Boatswain’s Beach, the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal are the three sites to be showcased at the special night-time parties.
Asked if the park not being fully completed would give a bad impression to delegates, Mr. Clifford said the primary stakeholders are already aware that the project is behind schedule and the marine component is not really the focal point for that night. Therefore, he did not see this as a major issue.
The conference is being organised jointly by the government, with help from the Chamber of Commerce and the Cayman Islands Tourism Association.
Mr. Clifford outlined the national objective for hosting the conference as to deliver a flawlessly executed annual conference for 1,000 delegates that leaves a lasting positive impression to all stakeholders.
Director of Tourism Pilar Bush outlined the functions of the different task forces for the organisation of the conference. She explained that for an undertaking of this size, where there are remote locations over five days and multiple activities, it is a very complex feat to pull off – to be able to do it flawlessly.
The overall cost of putting on the conference is between US$1 million and $1.1 million of which the government is responsible for a little over half, explained Ms Bush.
The other half has been provided for by more than 50 companies that have provided cash or donations-in-kind, such as fuel for transportation or sponsorship of welcome receptions or coffee breaks, said Chamber of Commerce CEO and Co-Chairman of the Fundraising Task Force for the conference, Wil Pineau.
‘The response from the private sector has been very high. Many of them see the benefit of getting their brand in front of such a substantial audience,’ he said.
Minister Clifford noted that the Sister Islands are being given the opportunity to host a presentation about their islands to cruise executives on Thursday, 2 November. Tours for delegates include the Eastern Districts and the Sister Islands.
Ms Bush outlined some of the indirect benefits the event can bring to tourism. She said DoT is encouraging land-based tourism providers to put special, exclusive offers together for the delegates so there is an incentive to book a return trip.
Also, meeting and incentive planners can be shown that the Cayman Islands can hold such a large conference. ‘When you can demonstrate a flawlessly executed conference for 1,000 people in three host hotels, there is no better way to market our meetings and conference business to potential meeting planners,’ she said.
Asked if Cayman will continue to remain clean and litter-free following the conference through the work being done by the Beautification Task Force, Ms Bush said she fully expects the committee, headed up by Heather Bodden, will continue its good work.
Mr. Clifford said it will receive annual funding for this.
It is intended that the conference’s benefits are felt by every Caymanian interested in doing business with the cruise lines, said Mr. Clifford.
Benefits to be provided by it include the creation of networking opportunities between cruise industry executives and suppliers; new Caymanian businesses entering the cruise industry and potential entrepreneurs being given the tools to get the results they want from the conference.
A series of workshops were held some months ago where cruise executives shared insider tips for contracts and those who took advantage of that opportunity will be ready to meet these executives at the conference, said Mr. Clifford.
Other benefits of the conference that were highlighted include showcasing how well the Cayman Islands has recovered following Hurricane Ivan and providing local businesses with the opportunity to hear the latest trends in the cruise industry.
Economic benefits include: the direct financial impact from the conference, such as every dollar spent by the 1,000 delegates; new contracts for Cayman-based businesses; potential long term increase in cruise ship business and overnight visitors; ability to showcase the stay-over product and the ability to expose potential investors to the Cayman Islands’ business environment.
The task forces are: Transportation and Transfers; Volunteers and HR (more than the required 185 volunteers have been secured and began training on Thursday, yesterday); The Tours and Events task force; The Social Events taskforce; The Security and Protocol Task force; The Amenities and Hospitality taskforce; The Finance and Budget taskforce; The Public Relations Task force; The Logistics task force; Sponsorship and Fundraising Task Force and the Beautification Task Force.
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