Tourist board seeks feedback on Pirates Week

| 28/11/2016 | 30 Comments

(CNS): The annual tourist week festival that has been part of the local events calendar for almost forty years continues to stir up mixed feelings among visitors and residents alike, but this year the Tourism Attraction Board is conducting a survey about what people think. However, the 21-question online public opinion survey is not anonymous so the board may not get the honest answers that they need to inform them of how the festival can evolve.

Offering a selection of prizes to encourage people to take part, officials said the goal was to improve the festival in future. As well as asking people about their favourite events, the survey is seeking feedback on what type of events, if any, people would be prepared to pay for during the near two-week pirate capers. They are also asking the public about the locations of the various events and what they believe is missing from the festival.

Take the survey here

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I read the survey and decided not to complete it because it asked all the wrong questions.
    As someone who has been attending pirates week for decades, I must say that the festival is reaching its lowest point. Whilst some elements of the Pirates week event are good, such as the fire works and some heritage days, I find the parade pathetic. Firstly the participants too few, those in the parade were largely sour faced with the exception of a few floats, and it was overall dull. Uneventful, a waste of time, and certainly an embarrassing tourist product to lure tourists to come to cayman for. The event requires quite. Bit of Renault. And I recommend that the Pirates week office hire a professional in planning large scale parades to help the, develop a model to ,are it more enjoyable. Where were the steel pan players? They could have used the police band, some of the school bands…it was as dead as a door nail. if you are going to do something, do it well or do not do it at all. I personally will not waste my time going back, unless things drastically improve.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I was kind of disappointed this year…. the parade needs more funding and it was not very long.. the food venues should be places in various paces around town not all in one spot.. give us places to walk..i felt like the parade was done and we walked to the food court ate and left town…more crafts and people selling pirate stuff…

    • It's me it's truly me and Imback Jin hand says:

      Haha in two words DUMP IT. get creative people involved let’s have a real party for locals and visitors a FEStIVAl of ARTs, .MUSiC with local and Internationsl cuisine on display.

      Please do not copycat?There are hundreds of pirate festivals worldwide.

      An out of the Box thought process by Caymanians and Residents should come up with a cultural promotional package that locals can be proud of and visitors will be thrilled about. Then in the words of the old cayman ditty we can truly sing ” you may go Go but ya gotback”

  3. Anonymous says:

    Pirates Week has been isolated from the other events and developments taking place in our hospitality scene for years. It’s been the same little old ladies booking steel pans for as Iong as I can remember, ever since I put on my first pirate outfit almost 25 years ago. Pirates Week needs to get with the times. There should be Seven Fathoms rum specials all day. Pirate themed menus at good restaurants. Perhaps an actual historical consideration of how much pirates used Cayman, the actual evidence we have so far being ‘even pirates didn’t think Cayman was much use’. Pirates Week trades on such tired stories, behaviours and cultures, many of them debunked, superseded or changed by time. Only the most base tourist would be attracted by it in a world where all the travels available are easily researched. Pirates Week suits neither the modern tourist demand (for authenticity) nor the local party spirit (for something truly exciting and different). It falls right through the middle, and makes no small inconvenience of itself while doing so. Frankly I wouldn’t care if it was cancelled. Put something else in its place. Follow the money – think Cayman Cookout, not Pirates Week. It’s not hard.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Maybe we should be more worried about the whole thing moving to Cuba as it frees up….

  5. Enormous Brown Richard says:

    Brothels. Free booze. Scurvy. Also, If the supermarket could open on a Sunday that would be great.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Kayak race. Yes I’m aware of the cardboard race. But kayak race can be for the schools to build pride and for corporates to team build.

    Water skiing showmanship competition.

    Fishing tournament.

    Backwards fun walk/run in costume.

    Horse show on the main road. Best in show horse.

  7. Anonymous says:

    I thought it was great! I attended all events that were in town. (no car to go to other locations) 2nd year of the night parade, getting better!
    I am surprised at the negativity. I think you get out of things, what you put in. And I think tourists really enjoy it.

  8. Anonymous says:

    drink specials need to be better…..

  9. Anonymous says:

    Bring on Christian Heritage Week.
    That will pack them in the hotels and bars.

  10. Annie says:

    Jim would be very annoyed that this event is now, technically, in high season.

  11. Anonymous says:

    They had my email address to send me the survey but yet I did not come across much promotion for the event/events. I honestly did not know it was Pirates week until the day it started.

  12. Anonymous says:

    I have never attended Pirates week so I can’t comment on that event, but I do have two suggestions. First, it would be helpful if these events were promoted on sites such as Trip Advisor etc. and it would also be nice (not sure if possible) if they took place when the US school holiday breaks. I realize they are Caymanian events, but after traveling to your island for over 20 years, these events never fall on our winter,spring breaks so we miss all the festivities.

  13. Anonymous says:

    The fact that TAB is even running this survey suggests that the impact on tourism this rather tired event had wasn’t too impressive. I remember last year hotels were struggling to fill rooms and offering specials right up until the day Pirates Week kicked off. Maybe things have simply moved on and like a lot of other so-called attractions this has reached its sell buy date?

  14. R. Moller says:

    It needs a change
    ..how much money is provided by government for a few staff to collect an annual salary to produce a 12 day festival…surely there must be a better way…fireworks were great though!

  15. Winston Hornaday says:

    Pirates Week portrays us as ill-mannered ruffians……. primarily interested in drinking and sex. Is this what we want to glorify? Where are our morals?

  16. Anonymous says:

    I particularly enjoy the half naked female pirates and could we have some more please?

    • Anonymous says:

      I’m not sure where you would have seen any of that. I wouldn’t call a bit of cleavage “half naked”. You must be thinking of Batabano. They wear not much more than a bikini, but I still don’t see the problem. We have tourists that walk down West Bay Road in their bikini’s …

  17. Anonymous says:

    shut it down

  18. Anonymous says:

    One word. Crap.

  19. Anonymous says:

    I hope they take up my suggestion of moving the whole thing to the Brac.

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