Hon Charles Clifford Tourism Minister	Olson Anderson CAL CEO Designate	Trina Christian CITA Executive Director

National flag carrier Cayman Airways Ltd (CAL) this week announced non-stop flights to Washington DC and Chicago Illinois in the US.

In introducing its new schedule to the public on Monday, the airline said the non-stop flights would coincide with the peak tourist season in the region.

Flights to the US capital city, Washington DC, from Grand Cayman will begin on Tuesday, 13 December, and are scheduled for Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Chicago route resumes on Wednesday, 17 December, with travel days scheduled for Wednesdays and Sundays. The flight schedules will run until April 2009.

“The addition of these two cities on CAL’s roster is vital to our success as a destination this winter,” said Minister of Tourism Hon Charles Clifford.

“Detailed analysis shows that the nation’s capital has two of the top 20 US zip codes for originating travel to the Cayman Islands. Washington DC is also our second largest market in the North East and up until now it was the only top NE Visitor Arrivals market without direct service to the Cayman Islands.”

Mr Clifford said he is pleased with the return of flights to Chicago in the winter season.

“I am also pleased to see the return of Chicago on our winter flight plan,” he said.

“The Windy City is also strategically important as year over year Chicago is in the top five American cities that account for Cayman Islands visitors. We look forward to this market growing even further during this winter season.”

Cayman Airways CEO Designate Olson Anderson said the airline is also looking forward to the new Washington DC route.

“Washington DC is a new gateway for the national flag carrier and we’re very excited about the fantastic travel experiences this new route offers for DC area visitors as well as Cayman residents,” he said.

Trina Christian, Executive Director of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), said private sector stakeholders in the local tourism industry are looking forward to a busy winter season with these new routes.

“CITA accommodation members in particular are thrilled that Cayman Airways will be offering direct flights to these destinations,” she said.

“CITA was involved in the entire process including investigating the most feasible gateways, and we feel that these two markets present the most opportunity for connecting both existing business and new business to our Tourism Industry. The CITA looks forward to strongly supporting this by making every effort to fill the planes with visitors.”

With the help of the Department of Tourism, Ms Christian said a special promotion has already been created where many of the CITA’s hotel partners are offering a resort credit of up to $400 to incentivise travelling on board Cayman Airways.

“Marketing efforts made by individual properties will include the Cayman Airways offer to further support the successful launch of these flights,” she said.