Light at the end of tunnel for beleaguered tourism industry

Tourism businesses are expecting a trickle rather than a flood when visitors start to return to the Cayman Islands from next month.

While there is optimism in the industry following the announcement that quarantine requirements will be lifted for vaccinated travellers from 20 Nov., nobody is expecting a surge in arrivals over the holiday season.

Doubts over airlift, the inability of unvaccinated children to travel without quarantining, and recruitment challenges mean many businesses are anticipating a slow start to the recovery.

Many of the details of the reopening, including on-island testing requirements for visitors, are still being worked out. Fears over Cayman’s growing local case load and designation of the jurisdiction this week as “high risk” by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are adding more uncertainty for prospective visitors.

And while there have been significant bookings since last week’s announcement, hoteliers say they need to rebuild confidence in Cayman after previous false starts.

Despite those concerns, the announcement of a reopening date and the decision to allow US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cards as proof of vaccination are viewed as the first glimmers of hope for the industry in 20 months.

Michael Tibbetts, owner of Clearly Cayman dive resorts and vice president of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, said the response to the news of the reopening date was “overwhelmingly positive”.

He said industry leaders were working closely with the Department of Tourism to iron out some of the details, including testing requirements for tourists and protocols for positive cases.

Modest expectations

Tibbetts initially plans to open only one of this three dive resorts – the Little Cayman Beach Resort, and ramp up for more significant visitation next year.

“We all have modest expectations about the restart of tourism – we have to instil confidence in our guests, travel agents, airlines and really rebuild trust in the island. That will only come with reopening.”

At the Westin Resort, managing director Jim Mauer said the calls had been coming in since the reopening date was announced.

“The good news is people still believe in us. They could have gone and found another destination but Cayman is special enough as a destination that they are still hanging in there with us.”

The inability of children, who cannot yet be vaccinated, to travel to Cayman without quarantine requirements is dampening expectations of a bumper Christmas.

With only two commercial carriers – JetBlue and Air Canada – confirming routes into the island, airlift is also a concern.

In terms of the hotel’s own operations, deep cleaning, mask wearing, social distancing and a number of other measures have been drilled in the off-season and Mauer is confident the Westin could handle as many guests as can get here.

The hotel kept its core staff employed and is preparing to bring others back to work as visitation ramps up.

“It is the first step in the right direction since March 2020. It might not change the situation that much immediately but it cracks the door open so we can see what’s behind,” he said.

It is a similar picture at the Kimpton Seafire Resort, where general manager Steven Andre said momentum had been building since last Friday.
He acknowledged the hotel had made large staff cuts during COVID but insisted, “we will absolutely be ready for those first guests”.

It will take a little longer to rebuild staff numbers to cope with full occupancy, while limited flights and potential new protocols remain a challenge.

Staffing issues

At the Wyndham Reef Resort in East End, owner Kel Thompson’s chief concern is staff. He said the hotel would likely not be able to open until next year.

“We have people asking to book but we won’t be open in December because we don’t have enough staff.

“We are advertising jobs in all areas of the resort but we have had very few applicants. It is harder to get people to come out to East End.”

He said work permits were taking several months to process.

“We can’t deliver the quality product the island is famous for without being properly staffed.”

Right now the Wyndham is hoping for an early-January opening.

Steve Broadbelt, of dive operator Ocean Frontiers, said he had kept enough staff on to cope with the amount of tourists expected before the end of the year.

The business also ran a divemaster training course earlier in 2021 and hopes to recruit some of the graduates of that programme as business rebuilds. He said more former staff were willing and interested in returning if permits can be processed.

Broadbelt said many loyal customers had booked, cancelled and rebooked on multiple occasions over the past 18 months.

He added that government’s decision to accept the US CDC vaccination cards was almost as important a development as the end of quarantine.

He has already taken several bookings for November and December but expects business to be patchy for a while.

“It’s not going to be like flicking the light switch back on. It will have to build up steadily over three to four months.”

Troy Leacock, owner of Crazy Crab water-sports company, said he was still seeing some cancellations, particularly from families who can’t bring their unvaccinated children to Cayman – a policy he hopes will be reconsidered before Christmas.

With cruise travel still a long way off, he said water-sports operators were likely to need government assistance for some time.

“My major concern is that the rate of return is more of a trickle,” he said.
Nonetheless, after a bleak period for the industry, Leacock sees the first signs of hope.

“A slow start is much better than no start. And we have waited for so long that I can’t help but be optimistic and hopeful. On Nov. 20, we finally start to rebuild our tourism businesses, livelihoods and lives.”