The Cayman Turtle Centre is expecting to see a significant drop in revenue over the next two years.
In 2023, revenue was projected to total $7.5 million, according to the latest ownership agreement made available in last month’s government budget.
This is expected to fall to $6.7 million this year and $5.9 million in 2025 – a total decrease of about $1.6 million.
The government-owned company – which operates the West Bay tourist attraction and adjacent meat farm – blames the negative forecast on a lack of visiting cruise ship tourists.
Chief executive officer Christopher Jackson told the Compass that cruise tourism has long been the core business of the Cayman Turtle Centre.
“Unfortunately, the industry has faced challenges in recent years, with a steady decline in the number of cruise calls due to needing a cruise berthing facility,” he said.
“This decline has been particularly impactful for the CTC, as it has resulted in a forecasted decrease in its revenue.”
The number of cruise ships stopping in Cayman has decreased considerably since 2019, the last full pre-COVID year, when tourism arrivals hit a record high.
In the first 11 months of 2023, 1,175,137 cruise passengers arrived in Cayman, less than 70% of the 1,618,950 who arrived during the same period in 2019.
In 2022, the Ministry of Tourism, based on information from cruise lines, projected that just 746,000 cruise passengers would arrive on island in 2024.
Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said at the time that two major cruise lines – Carnival and Royal Caribbean – would be reducing calls “due to our lack of a walk-on, walk-off facility”.
“This reduction in cruise calls is expected to impact CTC’s revenue significantly,” Jackson said.
“As such, it is clear that the decline in cruise tourism is directly linked to the forecasted decline in revenue for the CTC.”
He stressed that, to help offset these changes, the company has pivoted and implemented strategies to increase its market share in the stayover industry.
“The Cayman Islands, being a popular cruise destination, must urgently address this issue to safeguard the cruise tourism sector’s economic stability,” he said.
“With fewer cruise ships docking at the port, local businesses in George Town, tour operators, attractions, and hospitality providers will inevitably experience a decrease in customers and revenue.
“This, in turn, will have a ripple effect on the overall economy of the Cayman Islands.”
A petition in 2019 called for a people-initiated referendum on a cruise ship pier for Grand Cayman.
But the Progressives-led government at the time indicated it did not intend to move ahead with the plans, negating the need for a referendum on the issue.
Minister Bryan in his budget address in December 2023 renewed a call for a referendum to be held.
“We either have to be willing to accept the continual decline in passenger numbers over time or reconsider our options in respect to having a cruise pier,” Bryan said at the time.
In October, the Compass revealed that the amount of green sea turtle meat that the company sold for local consumption has fallen over the past three years.
Walter Mustin, chief research and conservation officer, blamed the drop on a lack of available livestock.
This is due to, among other issues, a decrease in successfully hatching eggs, possibly triggered by climate change, he told the Compass.
The drop in meat sales is unlikely to have had a significant effect on revenue due to the low prices.
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Good riddance to both cruise tourists and the backward practice of killing and eating turtles. Both make us look like the third world.