Minister Bush andthe Cayman delegation with the staff of the London office.Up Front
Bush: Europe Visitwas opportunity to Network with Key Tour Operators
Minister Bush andthe Cayman delegation with the staff of the London office.
Delegationat the ITB show, (from left) Mr. Donald McDougall, Mrs. AngelaMartins, Director of Tourism, Mr. Martin Walter of the Msi (CIDOT'srepresentative agency in German), Minister Bush, Ms. Maria Vollmerof MSi and Mr. Harding Watler, Permanent Secretary.
Minister for Tourism, the Honourable W.McKeeva Bush and a delegation of government officials visitedthe United Kingdom and Europe for his first official visit inFebruary of this year.
Accompanying him were the Permanent Secretary,Mr. Harding Watler, Director of Tourism, Mrs. Angela Martins andthey were joined by Director of Civil Aviation, Mr. Richard Smith.
The group arrived in London on February28th and their first appointment was at the Department of Tourism'soffice on Arlington Street where Regional Manager for the UK &Europe, Mr. Donald McDougall, greeted them. The delegation metwith the London office staff and then Mr. McDougall presentedan overview of the European operations and representative agenciesemphasizing the cohesive manner in which business is now beingdone in the European Union.
He explained that resources were being pooledbetween countries, and business was being conducted in a consolidatedand simplified manner throughout the region. Mr. McDougall alsoexpressed that it is critical that we get the private sector intimatelyinvolved in the marketing of the Cayman Islands in that region.
The Minister and Permanent Secretary leftMr. McDougall with instruction to investigate further how thesenew businesses practices may positively impact the efforts ofthe Department of Tourism's and to identify any cost-saving measuresthat might be employed.
The group also met with Mrs. Jennifer Dilbert,the Cayman Islands Government Representative in London.
Following this, the group met with BritishAirways officials at their headquarters to discuss the route operatinginto Grand Cayman and future plans. The Honourable Minister expressedhis pleasure on having the British Airways route operating andthat he was committed to strengthening the ties with the airlineto grow business from the European marketplace.
From British Airways, Ms. Alison Montague,New Business/Leisure Development Manager, along with Mr. GordonAlmond of M.D Longhaul Leisure Products, were in attendance andindicated that the Gatwick/Nassau/Grand Cayman route was one ofthe more profitable routes for British Airways and they intendedto strengthen the route over the next few years.
With this in mind, there is the possibilityof a change of equipment in the Spring of 2001 to the B777 aircraft.This would give an added capacity in all classes of service. Duringthis meeting the Director of Civil Aviation, Mr. Richard Smithoutlined the development plans for major improvements to the passengerterminal at Owen Roberts International Airport, also planned isan extension of the runway length with a parallel taxiway.
The Cayman delegation also updated the BritishAirways representatives on the new properties and products availablein the market, throughout the Cayman Islands. Mr. Almond expressedthat they were very keen to work with other carriers as evidencedwith their partnership and entry to the One World Alliance.
The two parties agreed that they would remainin contact and broach any issues that may arise to allow for furthergrowth of the European traveller to the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman delegation then flew to Berlin,Germany for the International Tourism Exchange - ITB Berlin 2001.ITB is the world's biggest tourism fair and has gained the worldwidereputation as the leader in its field. It is a trade show butis open to the general consumer on several days. This year, theshow was held on Saturday March 3 through Wednesday March 7, 2001.
"The entire trip was very educationalfor me and the opportunity to network with key European tour operators,airline executives and our own Department of Tourism representativeswas beneficial as we move forward to grow the tourism arrivalsfrom the European marketplace," remarked Minister Bush.
More than 50 per cent of the visitors aretrade visitors and come from the main sectors of the tourism industry- Travel agency 25 percent; Tour Operators 25 percent; Hotel Companies12; Tourism Organization 10; Carriers 9.
Almost one in three trade visitors is signingcontracts at ITB in the following sectors - Vacation & RecreationalTravel 56 percent; Incentive Travel 26 percent; Adventure Travel24; Business Travel 23; Sporting Trips 14; some overlap in thesebusinesses as they may sign more than one type of contract.
This year there were 7,600 exhibitors from189 countries around the world with over 101,000 square metresof exhibition space. Also there were an estimated 6500 journalistsfrom 89 countries and territories that were in attendance.
The Cayman Islands Department of Tourismand the Ministry delegation attended the show and were presentat the DOT booth to impart general information on the Cayman Islands,hand out brochures, and share some of the warmth of the Caymanianhospitality with the attendees..