Hon Juliana O’Connor-Connolly Acting Leader of Government Business	Moses Kirkconnell Sister Islands MLA

By Kevin Shereves
kevin@caymannetnews.com

Tourism in the Sister Islands may receive a much-needed boost as Government is working towards creating avenues to increase visitor arrivals and tourism revenue for the Islands.

Cayman Brac, the larger of the two Sister Islands – the other being Little Cayman, suffered severe damage caused by Hurricane Paloma on 7 November 2008 and efforts are underway to ensure that hotels are fully restored and will continue receiving visitors.

Hon Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, Acting Leader of Government Business, said a public meeting will be held on 28 August at the Aston Rutty Center in Cayman Brac to discuss plans to increase visitor arrivals to the Sister Islands.

“We are inviting local developers, the public, and all those with interests to a view forward. An announcement with respect to tourism as it relates to the Sister Islands will also be made at that time,” Mrs O’Connor-Connolly said.

“We want to formalise a tourism policy with the Sister Islands that will benefit everyone. We will take a holistic approach to adopting that policy while balancing the environmental concerns that will benefit all residents of the Sister Islands.”

She said an environmental impact study will be done with the assistance of the Ministry of the Environment and there are plans to promote the Sister Islands as a destination for eco-tourism.

Ernie Scott, District Commissioner for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, said a beautification project was being planned for the Sister Islands. These plans include enhancing the scenery at the airport, which will include a new welcome sign and garden. Parks and roadsides will also be enhanced. He pointed out, however, that these plans were subject to sufficient funding.

“We want tourists to be in awe of what they see in the Brac and Little Cayman, because first impressions have a lasting effect. We want our visitors to receive great hospitality from the moment they arrive at the airport, and we want to ensure that what they see throughout our communities leaves them with a wonderful impression of the Sister Islands,” he said.

“We want to encourage people to come to our shores because the Sister Islands have so much to offer. We offer great nature experiences such as the bluffs; the caves, historic trails, and we have over 200 species of birds. Little Cayman is renowned the world over for scuba diving and is among the top five dive locations in the world. Cayman Brac is also a great place to consider launching a new business and the Sister Islands are the perfect territories for having weddings in paradise.”

Sister Islands Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Moses Kirkconnell, said tourism is very important to the Islands as it is the primary source of employment, but the islands were dealt a devastating blow from Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.

“Our leg for employment in the Sister Islands is tourism. Ninety percent of the hotels on the Brac were destroyed in Hurricane Ivan, but with the recovery process well underway we hope to have our hotels back in business by the end of the year,” he said.

Mr Kirkconnell pointed out that the Alexander Hotel was now back online and the Brac Reef Resort, the Brac Caribbean and the Carib Sands are scheduled to be back online before year’s end. He said they were trying to save the 2010 winter season and the reopening of these hotels would bring the tourism sector back up and running.

Mr Kirkconnell said there was also an initiative to target the local market, by encouraging Caymanians and Cayman residents to spend their vacations on the Islands.

“We are also looking to attract more domestic tourism in the form of a ‘staycation’ where residents of all three Islands will be offered some great rates and will enjoy some quiet time, diving and family fun,” he said.

The Sister Islands MLA said another tourism niche that will be explored is cruise ship tourism.

“We need to attract a smaller upscale cruise vessel with passengers looking for a unique experience. We are looking at a programmme that sees smaller vessels arriving to the Brac three to four times per week. This initiative would see 300 to 400 passengers arriving on our shores each week, but we would need a docking facility, which we do not have here now,” he said.

Mr Kirkconnell added that, in a bid to penetrate the US market, there are currently negotiations with Cayman Airways, the Sister Islands Tourism Association and the Department of Tourism to implement direct flights from Miami to Cayman Brac.

When contacted regarding possible direct flights from the US to Cayman Brac, Cayman Airways said: “We remain dedicated to providing airlift to and from the Sister Islands, and are working closely with the Government to determine priorities as we move forward.”