Tag: cruise tourism
Tourism on road to recovery with one million visitors
(CNS): Official figures released by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism show that 284,274 people vacationed here last year and 743,394 cruise passengers called at George Town port, as the tourism sector began recovering once the borders opened, cruise ships began returning and all restrictions were lifted by the summer. The figures for both sectors […]
5 ships in one day erodes ‘quality over quantity’ idea
(CNS): Commitments made early in the PACT administration by both Premier Wayne Panton and Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan to switch the focus of cruise tourism from quantity to quality were undermined Wednesday when five ships arrived in the George Town Harbour. Similarly, plans to spread calls across the week have failed to take root as […]
Peak-season visitors approach 2019 numbers
(CNS): The number of overnight visitors arriving in the Cayman Islands in October and November reached around 90% of the record-breaking numbers of 2019 before COVID-19 turned the tourism sector on its head. The recovery of tourism for the peak season means the year-end figures for 2022 are going to be far better than predicted, […]
Cruise lines still refuse to tender mega-ships
(CNS): The number of cruise passengers expected to visit the Cayman Islands in future years is predicted to drop significantly, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said following recent meetings with the cruise lines. Without a cruise berthing facility in George Town, Carnival and Royal Caribbean are still refusing to tender their larger ships, and as they […]
July visitors reached over 60% of pre-pandemic year
(CNS) The Cayman Islands welcomed 32,411 overnight visitors in July, which is 63% of the number in 2019, the record-breaking year before the COVID-19 pandemic closed local borders. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said that the original target for visitor numbers for the end of this year was 40% of the more than half a million […]
Minister walks back plan to cut cruise numbers
(CNS): The focus of the PACT Government’s cruise policy may have shifted away from cutting back on the number of cruise visitors that were coming to the Cayman Islands by the end of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the borders. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said Friday that he wants to spread guests around the […]
Tourism minister revives floating cruise pier idea
(CNS): Following a recent visit to Jamaica, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan wants to look at the viability of a “floating dock” in the George Town Harbour, reviving an idea that was raised and rejected as an alternative to the previous administration’s controversial proposal for cruise berthing facilities. While the PACT Government has made a commitment […]
CDC ditches COVID rules for all cruise ships
(CNS): The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lifted its COVID-19 voluntary restriction programme for cruise ships, ending all official controls in relation to the virus. The CDC will continue to publish guidance to help ships provide a safe and healthy environment for passengers and crew, but requirements for masks, testing and vaccinations have […]
Royal Caribbean ship crashes into Falmouth dock
(CNS): Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas crashed into part of the dock while arriving at Falmouth Port, Jamaica, Thursday morning, just before the Carnival Freedom caught fire at a dock in Grand Turk. On what appears to have been a bad day for the two major cruise lines, the damage to the third largest […]
Carnival cruise ship catches fire in Grand Turk
(CNS) A smokestack funnel on a Carnival cruise ship was engulfed in flames on Thursday morning after a fire broke out while the vessel was at the dock in Grand Turk. The Carnival Freedom was on the final stop of a five-night cruise with 2,504 guests and 972 crew aboard when the blaze started in […]
Cruise deal to help Cayman relay new policies
(CNS): A new “tailored strategic agreement” between Cayman’s tourism ministry and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association will improve channels of communication and help promote the destination as it shapes a new cruise policy. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan explained that opening better channels of communication with the regional body that represents the cruise lines ahead of the […]
