Minister of Tourism Charles Clifford said at the Cabinet press Friday that Cayman’s increase in crime is not adversely affecting tourism.
‘All indications are it is not,’ he said.
Tourism figures have remained down against previous years, but Mr. Clifford attributed the decline to lingering effects of Hurricane Ivan, and not crime.
Mr. Clifford noted that in the United States, from where 82 per cent of Cayman’s tourism comes, crime is more of an issue than here.
Last month, several former club members of Indies Suites expressed their concern over the rising crime levels here on Grand Cayman.
While acknowledging there had been some complaint by some former visitors about crime, Mr. Clifford did not think the problem endemic.
‘It’s not a major concern at this point,’ he said.
Mr. Clifford said exit survey’s had been conducted to get feedback from tourists.
Overseas travel agents had also been consulted about the crime situation here.
‘They indicated (crime) was not an issue for people buying a vacation to the Cayman Islands,’ he said.
Mr. Clifford said the from a public relations standpoint, the Ministry of Tourism was careful on how it packaged its messages.
‘We don’t want to create any false advertising where you paint a false picture of what it is like here and then the tourist finds something else.’
Another reason Mr. Clifford citied for lower tourism numbers was that American tourists were being enticed to stay in the country for their vacations.
‘Since the terrorism attacks in 2001, the United States has been promoting domestic tourism in its ‘See America First’ campaign,’ he said.
Mr. Clifford said it was hoped tourism numbers would increase with the increase in accommodation rooms as more and more came on line following Hurricane Ivan repairs.
It was hoped that 80 to 85 per cent of the number of pre-Ivan rooms available would be ready by the peak winter season.
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