DoT using designer leather bags as promo tool
(CNS): The Department of Tourism has taken another unusual turn in its efforts to promote the Cayman Islands to wealthy travellers, working with a Chicago-based luxury leather bag maker. In a press release issued Friday, officials said the department was partnering with the custom leather goods brand, Laudi Vidni, on a unique line of coloured leathers inspired by the destination.
The DoT said Cayman was a “perfect muse for this collection” of leather shades that can be used for handbags, wallets and functional travel items.
“As a luxury lifestyle destination synonymous with barefoot elegance, we are thrilled to unveil the ‘Vivid Cayman’ collection in partnership with Laudi Vidni,” said Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism for the Cayman Islands.
“The colors selected for this collaboration truly capture the natural beauty of our picturesque destination, including our breathtaking sunsets, exotic wildlife and colorful coral reefs. We are thrilled to give our guests a stylish piece of Cayman to use in their everyday lives.”
The leather bag promo joins a number of other unusual avenues of marketing the department has been sponsoring recently, such as Porsche racing cars, the London Irish Rugby Club, the Portsmouth Football Club, and the Cheltenham Cricket Festival, to entice rich visitors back in the wake of the pandemic.
There was no indication from DoT of how much has been invested in the range of Cayman-inspired coloured leather, but Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said this destination is favoured by fashion-savvy visitors with a penchant for high-quality goods.
“This partnership between the Cayman Islands and Laudi Vidni represents a perfect blending of the bespoke individuality and style that are characteristic to both the ‘Vivid Cayman’ collection and the Cayman Islands vacation experience,” he said.
Laura Kofoid, Co-Founder and CEO of Laudi Vidni, said the leather collection captures “the emotional depth and magical hues that are uniquely and authentically Cayman”.
See the ‘Vivid Cayman’ collection here.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Kenneth is all flash and no substance just like this moronic idea. He is an attention junkie, so don’t be surprised if his face pops up in the leather goods ad promoting Cayman.
Anytime he can find an excuse to plaster his face on something he does. Big billboard of him promoting the booster shot. Maybe this is why the uptake of the booster has slowed down?
Pictures of Kenny wearing leather? 🤢🤢🤢
I don’t get it. Is this suppose to help rich people choose between going somewhere without having to jump through a dozen tedious and illogical hoops or come to Cayman and be treated like a biohazard while entering a place with 10X the infection rate than the place you’re coming from?
It appears to me — looking at the other Laudi Vidni collections — the “Cayman collection” already exists, and is just some goods gathered together and called “Cayman”. It doesn’t appear that they were specifically created for this collection. Which, of course, explains some of the odd colours.
That’s good news, if true; it means that it should have cost the public purse much less. Should have.
“Should have”. BUT probably didn’t. Why? Because a Caymanian official negotiated the deal – FAIL. We are so incompetent.
Rosa must take off her rose tinted glasses and resign, at this rate she will spend a large chunk of the bullet loan before it’s signed.
“Laura Kofoid, Co-Founder and CEO of Laudi Vidni, said the leather collection captures “the emotional depth and magical hues that are uniquely and authentically Cayman”. Seriously they fell for such garbage sales talk? The leather collection captures nothing but easy money for ‘designer crap’. Every item has a ‘designer’ but by attaching ‘designer’ to something it sky rockets the price. What a bunch of fools, but then again a fool and his money are soon parted.
True, but these fools are using OUR money, .which we don’t want to part with.
That’s my point, they are making fools of all of us.
A random Junior Achievement company would have come up with a better idea
At first I was confused as to why the DoT has people working in Product Development. I guess this has cleared things up.
In the words of the great Donald Trump. “ YOUR FIRED.”
You’re*
You’re
Great and Trump are not synonymous
That’s great, and in other news the island has hit an all time of unemployment, soaring home prices that the majority can’t afford, on top of the record amount of mortgage defaults.
Great job on the bags. They should go a long way to help fix these normal, everyday “bumps in the road.”
Where’s Heather Bodden?
ducking!!!!
I don’t understand how this is supposed to drive tourism to Cayman. How did KB & Rosa come up with this idea? Watching the Kardashians etc.?
Except for the blue and perhaps the tan/brown the colours are gaudy and not tropical or “magical”. Perhaps the company producing this leather is having a sale on these colours.
All the colors of the official cars of Cayman-Honda Fit and CRV
Pilar, you there?
No stopping the carnival now, bobo!
Too funny. And totally a Caymanian way to waste money they haven’t made yet. Why do they now think tourism will rebound after what they have done to the industry? How many tourist will they bag just for the leather goods? Looks more like someone likes the look of leather pants in the mirror.
This crowd think just spending money is what it means to be a Minister. Kenneth is lost in what to do for tourism. But he knows how to spend. Look at this story about land bought that is a real waste of public funds:
“During a Public Finance Committee meeting on 6 Dec. 2021, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said government had purchased a plot of land in George Town along North Church Street, north of the Lobster Pot restaurant. This location has been dubbed ‘The Waterfront Experience’ and is expected to be the future site of the craft market and other tourism attractions”
He should change the name to Kennys Waterfront Money pit
One acre for US$7m. What a joke. Now wait for the new traffic problem.
$8 Million…but it could be $7M before commissions.
Look on the bright side. The downtown guys will have a nice spot to drink beers and play dominoes!
Kenny thinks:
“ It’s a great idea. Buy some expensive land on the waterfront in GTC. Build a restaurant and bar. Lease it to the highest bidder to operate. And the operator must hire and train out of work Caymanians. It’s a master stroke of an idea!”
Businessman scratching his head and thinking:
“How is anyone going to make a profit from that? It’s a BS idea!”
Yes- a BS idea and waste of public funds. We will likely end up with a waterfront craft market and jerk chicken stand too far from cruisers and losing money every year.
This is actually one of the most BORING and most EXPENSIVE vacation destinations for families. No amusement parks or family friendly live entertainment options, and public transportation is horrible here.
Universal Studios, Disney, and Busch Gardens trips are cheaper than a family trip here and offer more per dollar.
Virginia Beach, Destin and Panama City Florida and the rest of the U.S. gulf coast and Atlantic coastal beaches are much bigger with much more activities available and the accommodations are actually reasonably priced. The boardwalk at Virginia Beach is terrific!
It’s clear that this country is nothing more than an escape for older wealthy travelers, wealthy retirees and financial services, and the policymakers and industry want it that way.
BORING!
That’s OK, we don’t want your noisy kids running about here ruining the peace and quiet anyway. If Disney Land is your idea of the perfect vacation then Cayman isn’t for you in any way.
Peace and quiet, LOL. Guessing you’ve never experienced the party boats at Starfish Point or Stingray City, or the horrendous traffic jams and plethora of accidents, or the trash littered public beaches and roadsides.
Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Remember it’s not Grand Cayman only. Cayman Islands: Three islands and the best are the two smaller ones.
What activities are there for families that don’t scuba dive?
Learning to Scuba Dive.
Snow skiing is still some way off. The dump is not yet high enough for the snow machines Government has invested in to work.
BINGO
No doubt they will appear in the next self-promotion video or maybe on that post-election election billboard eyesore.
Are Kenneth’s huge billboards legal? They need planning permission as far as I know. I will bet he doesn’t. And he also doesn’t care.
And if it is unlawful and our robust law enforcers are intentionally doing nothing THEN THEY ARE CORRUPT. (Or just looking after their friends and political masters in which case it is all OK, right Governor? We all now are coming to realize that Cayman laws only exist to be enforced sporadically and only against the less well connected).
Elections surely do have consequences. Kenny & Rosa, what a dynamic duo!
Best use of leather is to hold cows together
This is an example of the new ‘consulting’/backhander zone. As rules have tightened on other areas of self-enrichment involving government purchasing and government development approvals this is the new area where there is the most hard to track cash floating around. Anybody want to guess the owner of one of the wallets getting a bit thicker?
Grifters. Grifters, everywhere. The Cayman way!
Time to clean out DoT from top to bottom or disband all together.
Sales persons should be banned from all Govt Depts, too many heads are suckers for the sales talk,especially when it’s not their money (free samples for the buyers?)..What next polar bear fur gloves in red, white and blue. NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
“The Department of Tourism has taken another unusual turn in its efforts to promote the Cayman Islands to wealthy travellers”
I guess this is what happens when the only thing left is handbags and lipstick after you’ve lost what was once a beautiful Island to majestic concrete and “sustainable’ development.
I’m not wealthy and looking at these “designer” and oh yes, I use that term loosely, items it will actually deter the wealthy from coming. YUCK!
Kenneth Bryan. What are you smoking? Come on dude. These bags are junk. I can grr we t same quality at Dollar Store for $1.25.
When are you going to come up with usefull resources that will help caymanians? Stop wasting public money on crap
There must be some backroom deal/pay off here, there is no other rational explanation for this cheap move. Typical UDP “what can I get out of this ?” move.
Reminder they are also the title sponsor on cricket festival recently and a porsche series. Lots of others, cba linking them.
Is there actually any benefit to this? Do they have any statistics?
The worst part is, some of the locals (everthing345 insta page for example) think this approach is the best thing since sliced bread.
Everything345 is run by a Jamaican. None of the usual hate, just clarifying.
I guess they forgot that silver thatch thinggy
and the exclusive McBeater Red
Honestly?! Really? These islands have become the epitome of ignorance and embarrassment. It will take a whole lot more than this idiotic play at luring tourists to bring the rich to these now COVID infested islands! We had utopia, free of COVID that could have been intelligently marketed but instead this gang of elected misfits stupidly and carelessly threw away a grand opportunity to become like the rest of the world. So here we are guys! Just like the rest of a sick and dying world. Congratulations!
Covid was in the community before the tourists came.
Is this some kind of sick joke?! Tell me this is not true. If it is then everyone associated with this waste of government funds should be fired! We have poor, starving people in these islands, in the midst of a virus gone wild – the COVID headquarters that these idiots in government have made us – and this is the damn foolery that our money is being wasted on?!!! God, please make 2025 come quickly!
And in 2025 the electorate will put admitted criminals, drunk women-beaters, uneducated and self-serving officials back into office.
Wash, rinse, repeat
This is the way.
For the love of all that’s holy — you gotta be kidding. In case you haven’t heard: People. Here. Don’t. Have. Food. or. Jobs. or. Decent. Shelter.
Until they do, why not have beauty queens pay their own way, cut off the promos for a “destination … favoured by fashion-savvy visitors with a penchant for high-quality goods” and spend some effort getting our own people/elected leaders/government officials to stop selling us out and selling us down the river.
Something is really wrong here.
All part of the plan, bobo
How stupid!
What a whole bunch of fluff, lollipops, – does anyone involved actually feel like they’ve really accomplished anything or something that they can really feel proud about besides propping up artificial lunacy ?
Let’s make Cayman Islands Mouse Traps to attract the working class during the off-season 🪤
Stupid… What a waste of money. Cayman, you’re an International JOKE!
CI$400 million = US$500 mill. – Goes a long way on Madison Avenue!! Imagine the gravy trains in all the DoT Offices here and abroad!
Way to go Kenny, cant even grasp the concept of stewardship of public funds!
Best way to create tourism is to offer more than SMB and stingray city. Let’s face there is nothing to do. Everyone is so focused on building homes and buying land they forgot to offer anything else. Maybe try and attract some decent sports events to bring in visitors, another Kaboo or something. DOT needs to think out of the box and offer experiences instead of fancy gifts. They have a few months to scratch their heads before the doors are flung open. But they will just sit and take a pay check and stick a logo on some silly bag. Easy pay check.
This place is boring and too expensive for what it offers traveling families. Travelers with children or even couples can enjoy more activities, culture, entertainment, sports, etc, etc in tourist destinations such as Disney or the U.S. coastal areas on the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic beaches for almost the same amount of money for a hotel stay here.
Culture at Disney. Right.
Stop it. There’s a sumptuous mini golf course on WBR; an exotic middle eastern souk right on the beach; quiet, safe roads; a wildlife park by Savannah featuring a fascinating variety of used condoms; a regular bunch of quaintly violent party-boaters at Rum Point every Sunday; wonderfully inexpensive groceries; seven miles of uninterrupted white sand beach stretching from George Town to West Bay; etc etc.
Did I miss anything?
Nailed it
Yes, those inexpensive hotels and airfare. The family priced restaurants. The live music for everyone to enjoy in the evening. Easy walking and well lit walking down the tourist strip ( West Bay Road).
Can Kenneth and JonJon model their man bags?
They selling at Vy’s Closet?
Never heard of the cheap crap, what’s wrong with a Fosters carrier bag?
So who will be sent to Cheltenham to be the representative for the Visit Cayman Islands Cheltenham Cricket Festival?
Imagine listening to anything a convicted drug dealer says. Ken, you suck, and aligning yourself with the pigs in the trough doesn’t help.
Are you Caymanian? or are you Jamrock? Why not deal with the numbers guys outside 1 technology square? that’s your end of the woods right?
Don’t believe those at the lodge shaking your hand really like you. They don’t, you da wrong pedigree bobo.
04 @ 7:33pm – You’re absolutely right but watch Kenny be inducted into the Lodge soon – right after CIG lobbies UK FCO to intervene and get him a US Visa!
What a load of total b@llocks. The only thing that DOT should be sponsoring is a series of resignation letters.
And just last year we thought that DoT could not get worse.
PORTSMOUTH FC? Seriously? What on earth is its connection with Cayman? And don’t say “seafarers”, please!
Who dreamed that one up? Their fans are violent, penniless louts.
Nice one.
Yeah but someone from here gets to go there and “throw out the first pitch”… Or whatever the football equivalent honour is for visiting VIP’s.
In Portsmouth? Drink eleven pints, score some good shit and knife a copper.
This just sounds like public money is spent so that a few fancy people here can get some nice free designer ‘samples’ for themselves. How on earth is this nonsense going to encourage normal people to visit the islands. What utter rubbish and yet another waste of money that someone no doubt benefitted from personally.
Kenny is no Moses. Cayman tourism is scr.w.d. Amazingly the sponsorship of Portsmouth football club is an official CI government tourism initiative. See: https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2022/january/pompey-partner-with-the-cayman-islands/
This makes absolutely no sense. Portsmouth is a mid-table third tier team. The fan base is traditional working class and provides no market for Cayman tourism. Cayman will get little or no national exposure and as a stand sponsor, Cayman would get little out of any exposure we do get.
This decision begs a lot of questions. What is the business case behind the investment of public money in this way? CNS you should ask Kenny about this. Where in the UK is his wife’s family from again?
Aaaahhhh so that makes sense.
The Wife connection in UK so Kenny can be the big man locally, and strut his “I am a minister” stuff .
Yup there has to be some kind of link for the department of Tourism to make such an inexplicable investment.
May be the club can sort out CIFA which is in total shambles and unable to pay its debts.
Chris, that club is in the third tier of English football for good reason – shambolic money management.
LOL!
But surely it will help Caymanians help afford a home…smh
Bet you all the DoT stooges and brown nosers get these luxury leather goods as perks. Sounds more like a ruse than a muse.
Its not ‘normal people’ they want. Did you not read Kenny boy’s comments?
Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said this destination is favoured by fashion-savvy visitors with a penchant for high-quality goods.
Well he did used to ‘model’ LOL
Lower the prices, get rid of the ridiculous LFT testing 3x while on holiday, stop the building, the traffic is out of control.
No thanks. I can cricut the cayman symbol on anything now and it looks just as good. Don’t need to pay hundreds for that or pay $75. for a sweatshirt, shorts, beach bag, etc.
Can buy a bag like those at TJ Maxx for under $40. in the same hues if I choose to look hard enough.
Wow! Where do our marketing experts get their valuable information that leather bags will attract wealthy visitors to our shires?
No thanks. I can cricut the cayman symbol on anything now and it looks just as good. Don’t need to pay hundreds for that or pay $75. for a sweatshirt, shorts, beach bag, etc.
The bobo echo chamber, of course.
The Chamber of Comedy
Self indulgent Minister of Tourism – vomit
Think of all those wealthy potential visitors watching Portsmouth play football, or the London Irish play rugby. How does that work – someone from the Cayman London office met someone in a bar?
Well this convinced me to book my trip. If I can get a leather bag then that circumvents the inconvenience of having to test on days 2/5/7 and the possibility of being stuck in quarantine for who knows how long.
DUH – can an idea get any worse?
Give them time, they’ll figure a way to make it worse.
“the emotional depth and magical hues that are uniquely and authentically Cayman”
shades of gray inspired by construction concrete then.
Trash littered roadsides, illegal rubbish dumps, overflowing trash containers, god awful parking and driving, wrecked and abandoned vehicles (Honda Fits), traffic jams, packed KFC drive through, sea walls destroying 7 mile beach.
This is Grand Cayman
Well, skip on over to Little or Cayman Brac.
Lolol same thought!
Exotic wildlife and colourful coral reefs!! Oh my days. Does this person even live here?
It’s like satire. It’s genuinely something somebody would write if they were taking the piss out of a flat island with a dump 20 stories tall, bleached coral and zero wildlife except for the chickens.
Please quit your job and give it to me!! Please. I need this job. I feel like I can steal a living far better than you.
Grab that bag and grift, bobo
How much and to whom ? Little short on details here ….
Click on it. The bags are going for $100 plus- $400 plus. I’ll skip the bag and stay another night at Holiday Inn. Can’t stay anywhere for under that.
How many civil servants and elected representatives will have some of these?
Commissions?
What an absolute joke.
I have a better one. The football matches this weekend in the UK have sponsorship from the Cayman Islands. Respect the grift
Which teams? Guess Minister of Tourism was busy on his jolly holidays – expense report please.
How much did we pay for this dead on arrival alliance, we might ask? Good grief.
Should have used the leather from the 1.35 million invasive green iguanas. My next level genius will be available to CIG for an annual retainer of somewhere falling between $183,504 and $218,112 a year + 2 patties for breakfast.
Largely attractive offer but the patties are a dealbreaker
Not luxury. Not even high end. Bad taste, and cheapening BrandCayman. How does this stuff get through, and how much does it cost us??
BrandCayman?
Yes. That which represents us at our highest. We have a brand. We need to enhance and protect it. It needs to be represented by quality. By the best that there is. We need to be the best that there is. At the moment that is aspirational, and we have much to do to get there. We cannot afford to cheapen ourselves on that journey.
Respect the grift
“Goddamn!”- Noob Noob
Here’s a unique plan dear morons in parliament.
Deport the criminals, clean the streets.
It’s not rocket science
I’m sure they’d love a luxury suite with an enchanting view of the dump!
Or cemetery!