Cayman tourism leaders rally support for cruise berthing ahead of referendum

The Association for Cruise Tourism is urging support for the Cayman Islands embracing cruise berthing infrastructure, saying it is an imperative to safeguard the future of the territory’s cruise tourism industry.

Caymanians will vote in a referendum today, Wednesday, the same day that Cayman elects a new government. Among the issues to be voted on in the referendum is whether or not the Cayman Islands should develop cruise berthing infrastructure.

Speaking at a town hall meeting hosted by the Association for Cruise Tourism to help gin up public support, Alexander Gumbs, CEO of Port St Maarten Group, remarked that modern cruise berthing infrastructure is critical to positioning Cayman as a marquee destination in the western Caribbean and securing opportunities for future generations.

Cayman’s cruise tourism industry has experienced a near 50 per cent drop in cruise passenger arrivals since 2019. And Deputy Premier and Minister of Tourism and Ports Kenneth Bryan said he is unequivocal in his support for cruise tourism and the construction of piers for the country’s growth.

“I support cruise tourism and I support the building of cruise piers for our sustainability,” Bryan said, while commending the Association for Cruise Tourism for fighting misinformation about the plans.

The association’s executive programme manager, Ellio Solomon, said at the meeting that “our cruise customers deserve the same service as those coming on a plane”.

Solomon outlined how proper infrastructure would eliminate the need for anchoring and running thrusters for hours, enhance the services to cruise passengers, and allow visitors to spend more time – and more money – on the island.

“We are not doing something that we believe is wrong. We are doing something that we are absolutely convinced is right,” Solomon said, noting that environmental studies had confirmed no adverse impact on beaches or the marine ecosystem from modern cruise berthing.

“We are not just representing ourselves. We are representing the 40 businesses that have been lost, and the 3,000 families, who depend on this industry for their livelihoods,” he said.

The town hall meeting also addressed common concerns surrounding financing and ownership with representatives of the Association for Cruise Tourism explaining that modern cruise port projects can be funded through passenger fees and that proper oversight ensures local ownership and opportunity.

They said information being spread by opponents that the government would be saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt from such a project was categorically false.

Gumbs said a well-developed port operation and a supportive tourism community helped St Maarten rebound more quickly after natural disasters like Hurricane Irma in 2017. He said that if the cruise industry had not recovered within three months, much faster than the hotel sector, thousands of people would have been left unemployed.

CMC