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Revision as of 22:36, 6 February 2007

GoToCayman.com - News from Cayman (ISSN: 1744-7690)

January 2007

The tourism statistics for 2006 have been released and are available at http://www.caymanialands.ky/statistics. There were 267,257 air arrivals throughout the year, up on the figure for 2005 be nearly 100,000. This is still way short of the high of 354,087 in 2000. The average occupancy rate for the year for hotels was 59.4% and for condos and apartments was 40.7%. Whilst the figure for hotels was up on the figure of 55.8% for 2005, apartments and condos were down from a rate of 46% in 2005. Both of the current occupancy figures are a long way down from the highs of 73.1% (hotels) and 52.3% (apartments and condos) in 1998.

There were a record 1,930,136 cruise visitors in 2006 - the highest figure to date.

At the end of December a nine-foot long crocodile was captured alive at Old Man Bay in East End in Grand Cayman. It is now being cared for at Botswain's Beach. Investigations are taking place to determine the origins on the croc.

The Europa, a small luxury ship with around 350 passengers visited Cayman Brac. The Europa is the first cruise ship to stop at Cayman Brac for over five years.

Speaking at an American Association of Port Authorities seminar titled 'The Emerging Cruise Product in the Cayman Islands', Tourism Minister Charles Clifford said that government needs to manage the cruise better with the advent of larger vessels visiting Cayman. "Back in December 2000, the cruise ships visiting George Town ranged in size from 23,000 tons to 70,000 tons with passenger capacities of 400 to 2,300 persons. [Now], at the end of December 2006, the smaller ships calling on Grand Cayman are around 70,000 tons with the larger ones now at 100,000 tons and higher." "We must continuously commit to managing the relationship between cruise lines, ports and destinations to better integrate the components which make the cruise industry possible," he said. Mentioning the problems of crowded roads, pavements and stores Clifford said "In the lead time it takes to build the ships and the destination-based infrastructure needed to serve them, cruise lines and destinations may work systematically and jointly to pursue high standards of excellence by being well coordinated, time-efficient, safe and customer friendly." He said that work on the construction for berths for four ships is due to start in March. He added "To neglect our cruise product would, without a doubt, be detrimental in the long run and neither I, nor my colleagues in the government will allow this to happen." The new berth facilities would "allow us to provide a safer, standardised and more enjoyable experience".

Statistically speaking, Cayman's roads are getting safer. Roads Minister Arden McLean revealed in 2005 there were only 16 accidents for every 1,000 vehicles in 2005 compared to 129 accidents for every 1,000 vehicles in 1971, 104 accidents for every 1,000 vehicles in 1980 and 61 accidents for every 1,000 vehicles in 1990. In the same time period the number of vehicles has increased from 2,002 vehicles on Cayman's roads in 1971, compared to a total of 31,466 vehicles in 2005. There were 14 road-traffic fatalities in 2005 but this was lower than the 21 deaths recorded in 1985 and the 20 deaths recorded in 1990. McLean promised to meet with road-safety campaigners to discuss plans for "graduated" driving licences, under which young people must pass a series of tests over a number of months before gaining a full licence. He is also looking at increasing the fines for traffic offences.

On the water, there were 10 watersports deaths last year, seven involving snorkeling and three from scuba diving. Eight of the victims were from the US and only one was younger than 48. Coroner's juries have not issued rulings on the 2006 incidents, so no official cause of death has been given. However, the situation is being discussed within the watersports industry. As Rod McDowall, operations manager of Red Sail Sports explained "You will have accidents. There's nothing you can do about a guy who has a heart attack," said Rod McDowall, operations manager of Red Sail Sports. "The unfortunate thing is that it appears – and I don't know the details – but it appears that a couple of the latest related deaths may have been avoided."

In the last incident of the year a 55–year–old woman from Louisiana named Louise Gales was taken on board a snorkel tour boat after suffering difficulty in the water off Barkers in the North Sound. Mrs. Gales was not breathing when she was taken from the water. Tour boat passengers tried to revive her using CPR. None of the tour boat crew members knew CPR. Stephen Broadbelt, who chairs the Water sports Committee of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, said sometimes water sports, diving in particular, get a bad rap. "Debate is certainly on–going within the industry. But you know, just because somebody was having a round of golf and they had a heart attack, it's not considered a golfing accident. But somebody's out on a vessel and they have a heart attack…and for the most part it's a death of natural causes. It still gets called a diving accident or a snorkeling accident."

Unfortunately there were two watersports deaths in January 207. A 54-year-old male US citizen found unconscious after scuba-diving with a friend near Sunset House. In the second incident a 71-year-old Korean man was found floating unconscious at the Sand Bar. He had been a passenger on the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship. Both men had been transferred by medics to Cayman Islands Hospital, where they later died.

A new organisation has been launched responsible for educating residents on threats of disaster while preparing for, responding to, and managing these natural or man-made hazards should they occur Named Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI), this organisation will formulate plans to deal with any hazard the Cayman Islands could face, ranging from the annual threat of hurricanes to oil spills washing along the beaches, explosions, sabotage of the information highway, and terrorism. The National Hurricane Committee will be one of the many sub-groups of the new agency specialising in dealing with a particular threat. Depending on the disaster or emergency, the relevant specialised sub-group will take a lead role in managing the hazard. The new Director of HMCI is internationally accredited disaster management and mitigation specialist Dr Barbara Carby, who heads an office of 10 full-time staff, including persons with expertise in dealing with national hazards. The agency have already organised a simulated disaster to test responses of the emergency services. The exercise scenario was that a fuel truck and school bus collided on the Linford Pierson Highway, with a few deaths and some serious injuries among the 24 passengers, all students of Red Bay and Prospect primary schools. The fire on the fuel truck was extinguished by Fire Service responders, and officers staffing the five fire trucks and six ambulances on the scene contained the problem while treating and transferring "patients." Exercise observers included HMCI Director Barbara Carby and other professionals in the field of disaster mitigation and response.

The simulation is a key component of Cayman's disaster capability management review, which is intended to identify areas for improvement in all of its preparedness plans. Organised by Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the review also is intended to share best practices, particularly among Overseas Territories.

Speaking at a press conference, Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said that he hoped to have some of the long-promised European Union $7.1 million hurricane-relief fund by early February. The money, earmarked for housing renovations, would be administered by the National Recovery Fund, which has already spent almost $10 million to repair and rebuild more than 450 homes, and supply both furnishings and white goods to another 400. Fund administrators estimate that another 150 badly damaged houses must still be rebuilt entirely, while 100 require major repairs and another 250 remain without electricity, incurring a cost of approximately $5.5 million.

Minister of Tourism Charles Clifford has announced the start of a multi-million dollar development to upgrade Owen Roberts International Airport to enable it to handle more than a million passengers a year. The project is expected to take two years. "The Cayman Islands needs an upgraded airport terminal in order to effectively accommodate projected passenger numbers and to compete at an international level." "An expanded international airport will ensure we are able to maintain our status as a world-class destination for our vibrant and thriving tourism and financial services industries."

The airports current capacity is about 800,00 per year, so the scheme will allow for more flights per day and an increase in the number of airlines that can serve the airport. Parts of the project including separating domestic and international passengers, increasing the terminal building space from 69,000 square feet to more than 205,000 square feet and, more apron space to allow airport parking for 10 jets.

Clifford added: "The airport is a critical building for the Cayman Islands. It's the first and last building you see. I can assure the people of Cayman that it will be designed to respond appropriately to the islands' history, lifestyle and environment, as well as be inclusive to all aspects of Caymanian society."

For the third year running, Tortuga Rum Cakes have been voted "Best Cruise Souvenir" by Porthole Cruise Magazine. "Given the consistent quality and great taste of Tortuga Rum Cakes, it was again an easy choice for best cruise souvenir. I can't remember a time when I returned from a cruise without one — or several." said Bill Panoff, publisher and editor-in-chief.