Editorial
Tourism's Season of Changes
As the 2001 tourist season gets underway,industry players are keeping a wary eye on the sector's performanceindicators and are hoping that this season will be a better onethan last year, which, many agree was not the brightest.
The sector's businesses and others with interest in the industryare also likely to be monitoring keenly the many changes thatare in the pipeline for tourism. The Minister of Tourism, theHon. Mckeeva Bush seems to be taking a rather proactive approachin this exercise.
In recent weeks, a number of initiatives and plans have been announced,which are being pursued to lay the framework for modernising andstrengthening the industry, with an eye on ensuring its long-termviabilty.
Top-level changes in the staffing of the Department of Tourism'sUnited States office have been announced; there are plans in thepipeline for a major upgrading of the port to better accommodatecruise ships and there is information at hand that the Owen RobertsInternational Airport is to undergo expansion.
In addition, the islands' two main associations representing thetourism sector have been in merger talks - at the Minister's behest-- since late last year and it is expected that they will formone body by the end of March.
Some of the plans have not been without controversy. Since theMinister's statement last year regarding a lifting of the Sundayban on cruise ships public debate has been raging, as to the appropriatenessof such an action.
There are other initiatives, which to some may appear cosmetic- such as the
plan for taxi drivers to wear uniforms, seem conceived to createa brighter image for the industry.
All of this, if properly planned and carefully executed, can onlyredound to the benefit of the Cayman Islands' tourism product.Perhaps this is as good a time as any to modernise and reshapeit, as the global travel market continues to grow and with it,competition.
It has been proven, time and again, that tourism is the highestearner for every country, and since Cayman was described in 1950(Saturday Evening Post) as "the islands that time forgot,this industry has been a staple of the country's economy.
As one of the two main economic pillars, even the finnacial sector- the other pillar will not be able to survive without it. Itis easy to see that any changes to the infrastructure and deliveryof the tourism product will likely have a direct impact on presentand future earnings from the sector.
It is perhaps for this reason that some of these far-reachingprojects are being comtemplated, to guarantee the islands' placeas a destination of first choice in the competititive marketplacefor warm-weather destinations.
For this reason, they should be supported, not only by those inthe industry, but by every concerned Caymanian who has the futureof these islands at heart.