Deputy Premier Christopher Saunders, together with Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, have initiated discussions with Jamaican leaders to work together on greater collaboration with Cayman on tourism travel between the two destinations.
However, Bryan, speaking on Radio Cayman’s ‘For The Record’ talk show with Orrett Connor on Friday morning, distanced Cayman from supporting or committing to a Caribbean visa regime, to allow for the easing of travel from regional partners into Cayman, an initiative being pushed by Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett.
“There’s some clear benefits to it,” Bryan said. “But I’m not sure from a security standpoint, how beneficial it is and it’s [a] very significant change, hence the reason we will not be making any commitments or any comments on that until we have a good dialogue.”
While noting there was “likely a higher chance of a lot of hurdles being in the way of such a thing”, he said he understood Bartlett’s position and “his intent for our region from a tourism perspective”.
Bryan and Saunders have met with Bartlett and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness separately on a number of issues.
According to a Jamaica Information Service article, Bartlett raised the regional visa initiative, saying, “We are going to have to decide if we are going to create freedom of movement within the Caribbean, and in doing so, are we going to establish a special visa regime that enables touristic travel within our space?”
The article did not include any comments from the Cayman delegation on that specific issue.
However, Bryan, on the radio Friday morning, in response to a question from attorney Steve McField, said “further discussions will happen but, at this time, Cayman does not have a position on that.”
Bartlett, according to the JIS article, said Jamaica has signed four memoranda of understanding for multi-destination arrangements with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Mexico, and Jamaica is ready to work with the Cayman Islands on a similar agreement.
Saunders, who is also Minister for Finance and Economic Development and Minister for Border Control and Labour, was quoted in the article as saying, “we are excited and re-energised in terms of working very closely to see exactly what we can do and how we can build mutual interest together”.
A statement from the Jamaican tourism ministry on the meetings said discussions were initiated to facilitate collaboration on tourism, “in order to leverage the strong historical ties and synergies between both nations to boost their tourism sectors”.
Among the areas being examined for cooperation, the statement said, are multi-destination tourism, airlift, enhancing border protocols, rationalising airspace and resilience building.
Bartlett said there will a special focus on multi-destination tourism, adding that he will be meeting with key players in the industry in Cayman next month.
He explained that in developing the framework, his ministry is seeking to “include the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Belize, from this side of the Caribbean”.
Bartlett also called for the private sector to develop a special tourism package, “with an attractive price” that can be presented to the market to promote multi-destination tourism and enhance the regional tourism product.
He said the issue will be further explored at the next meeting of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association in October.
The CHTA will host the 40th edition of its flagship trade event, Caribbean Travel Marketplace, in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 3-5 Oct.
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I agree this is not a good fit for Cayman. Having been a tourist of both Jamaican can Cayman for many years myself, the types of tourists that one attracts do not seem to be the same tourists for the other. I think it’s worth comparing the two tourist populations of these islands to show just how different they are not only demographically but also in terms of tourist housing (types of resorts, average spending per trip, etc.). Ultimately, I think this could drag down Cayman’s reputation as a more exclusive destination. There are better ways to grow tourism like more direct flights to key destinations like Dallas, Texas!
I totally agree.
But you still need permission to come to Cayman unless you come by cruise ship