Cayman’s tourism leaders believe the industry is primed to immediately bounce back following government’s surprise decision to ditch its unpopular post-arrival COVID testing regime.
Cayman Islands Tourism Association president Marc Langevin said the announcement removed one of the biggest barriers to bringing back visitors to the island.
If the positive momentum around airlift continues, he predicts Cayman’s hotels could reach occupancy levels at around 80% of what they were seeing prior to the pandemic this summer.
By Christmas, he expects every hotel on the island to be full.
Speaking Friday morning on the Cayman Compass and Rooster FM’s new news review show, Beyond the Headlines, Langevin said he was doing cartwheels after yesterday’s press conference.
He said abandoning the requirement for visitors to take lateral flow tests on days 2, 5 and 7 of their trip, sent a clear message that Cayman was now fully open for business.
The regime was unpopular because it meant visitors had to take three days out of their vacation to line up and pay for tests and run the risk of being stuck in isolation if found positive for COVID-19.
Langevin said reservations, which were relatively low from the November reopening to this point, had started to build in March and April anyway. He believes yesterday’s announcement will build on that momentum through Easter and beyond.
And he suggested next winter’s high season could be a record-breaker, with tourists anxious to get back to the island.
Langevin said many of the major hotels, including The Ritz-Carlton, which he manages, the Kimpton Seafire Resort, the Marriott and the Westin, were already over 50% booked for next Christmas.
“Long term, our customers have already understood that there was no question that they were going to come back,” he said.
“I received so many emails from customers saying ‘We can’t wait to come back.’”
Listen: Marc Langevin speaks with Elizabeth Charles
CITA boss Marc Langevin speaks to Rooster 101.9 host Elizabeth Charles on the new Beyond the Headlines news review show Friday.
Giant leap
Langevin admitted yesterday’s decision had taken him by surprise and was more than he had hoped for. Describing it as a “giant leap” after months of “micro steps”, he said Cayman was back in business.
“This is going to put us in a much more competitive position with the other destinations in the region,” he said.
“Now we are really gung-ho and we have a strong message to send to all our business partners, travel agents, meeting planners, customers.
“We are going to pick up the phone and do whatever it takes. This is great, great news.”
Langevin said the expansion of capacity limits for indoor events was also a big milestone, allowing for a return of large group bookings – a mainstay of the hotel trade.
He said delays in the reopening plan, amid a significant on-island COVID outbreak late last year, had cost the industry business during what is usually the high-season.
But he is hopeful that government and the private sector can partner on strong marketing campaigns to win back the trust of frustrated tourists who have been knocking at the door to return to Cayman.
Continuing the positive momentum on bringing back flights is also considered crucial.
Concerns remain for the future of business impacted by the continued closure of cruise tourism, though government is expected to make an announcement about the partial reopening of that sector next week.
Speaking at Thursday’s press conference, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan encouraged cruise businesses to begin bringing staff back to work in readiness.
With the exception of cruise, he estimated 85% of the issues highlighted by the industry had now been dealt with. He said staffing and work permits was still an issue but government was intent on holding businesses to a “Cayman first” recruitment policy.
Though there is no more on-island testing mandated by Cayman’s government, the possibility of testing positive on a pre-departure test and being stuck in Cayman remains a concern for some travellers.
Bryan acknowledged, “The other hurdle, which is no fault of our own, is the potential to be found positive once you are tested to go back to your jurisdiction.”
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Again, the testing requirements are only PART of the barriers to a full return by tourists.
1. You must lower the room rates until the tourists come back. Being closed for almost 2 years, many tourists discovered other nice places to go – Turks & Caicos, Baha Mar, etc. Cayman opening up with ~$1,000+ a night room rates for the Ritz, Seafire, and Westin will ensure many stay at those other places. If you don’t want to discount the nominal rate, offer 2 nights free with 7 night stay or something to entice people back.
2. You have to get everything back open. Rum Point closed. Crystal Caves closed, etc. does not attract people back.
3. You have to promote! For as long as I can remember. the Cayman Islands was viewed as the Rolls Royce of vacation spots – and Rolls never advertised. However, with the pandemic and people going elsewhere, it is time to actually launch comprehensive promotions in other nations to get the tourists back.
Cayman Islands has a choice to make – stay the course with high prices just because it is “high” season and lose 40-50% of its tourists, or it can get competitive and actively seek out and win back its clientele to regain its status as the premier vacation and living spot in the Western Hemisphere.
The choice is yours – but the clock is ticking!
Has the beach been restored?