Cayman Islands Premier Shrugs Off Travel Fears on Cuba

Cayman Islands’ Premier Hon Alden McLaughlin asserted that Cuba opening up to US tourism will pose no threat to Cayman’s tourism sector as the Cayman Islands has a unique product that no other country can replicate.

Speaking on Radio Cayman’s talk show, For the Record, on Monday 21 March Mr. McLaughlin said, “I don’t buy into this approach that so many people have that because Cuba takes off that is the end of Cayman as a tourism destination.”

Premier McLaughlin continued, “Cayman is a pretty amazing place, a pretty unique place. The more I travel, the more places I go to, the more I come to have respect really what a great place Cayman is compared to just about anywhere else in the world and that’s not just going to dissipate because Cuba or somewhere else becomes more attractive.”

According to a report from Integra Realty Resources (IRR), Cuba appears to be the next rising tourism star in the Caribbean as visitor arrivals increased 17.4 per cent in 2015. This means the country represents the second largest tourism market in the Caribbean, even without tapping into the US market.

The IRR report added, “The Obama administration appears to be gradually improving relations with Cuba, while whittling away at the embargo at the same time. The question is whether or not the next administration will continue these efforts or whether they will sympathise with Cuban-American lobby who are generally opposed to relaxing trade restrictions with the communist nation.”

Furthermore it said there has been a significant increase in airlift to Cuba mostly from the US, in hopes of carrying “licensed” passengers in addition to efforts to establish several ferry services from Florida.

During the radio program, Mr. McLaughlin recalled his cycling trip to Cuba in February of this year with the talk show’s host Orrett Connor. He recalled covering parts of the island on a bike which allowed him to move slowly and experience much of the country, including “the atmosphere and people”.

He remarked, based on his own observations that he believes the country has great potential but has a long way to go before it achieves that potential.

“We know that a large percentage of the population lives in what Caymanians would call ‘real poverty’. They’ve got a long ways to go to get there. But they will get there, I have no doubt about that,” the premier said.

Mr. McLaughlin said that although there are things that the Cayman Islands lacks- such as certain natural resources that other Caribbean islands have, despite this Cayman is “one of the best places in the world to live” and he does not see anything that is going to change that.

He said, “There are things that we don’t have that many of us would wish that Cayman had in terms of the natural resources. You know comparing Cayman as an island to Jamaica or Cuba, we don’t have wonderful waterfalls and rivers and mountains and all of those things. But we’ve got a lot and we’ve always had a lot going for us.”

“And I think what we’ve always had going for us and more so is our willingness to change, to evolve to accept people from elsewhere, to accept things and ideas and so forth from elsewhere. And Cayman really is a first world destination,” he noted.

“Is everything perfect? Absolutely not. Is everybody happy? Absolutely not,” Mr. McLaughlin said.

“But what I can say, as premier of this country and leader of the current government is that Cayman in every respect is in a better place now than when we took office three years ago. And things are only going to continue to get better as our policies take effect, as development continues to expand and to grow and to provide more economic and employment opportunities for our people,” Mr. McLaughlin asserted.

Source: The Cayman Reporter