Statement by the Hon. Roy McTaggart, Leader of the Opposition on Tourism

For months, I’ve criticised the successive Premiers of the PACT and now the UPM government and the Minister of Tourism for their inaction and complacency as Cayman’s tourism industry struggles. The Premier, echoing the sentiment in December’s parliamentary budget session, repeatedly insisted that the Minister of Tourism is confident about achieving full tourism recovery by year-end.

However, with the end-of-year figures now available, it’s evident that, at best, the Premier and the Minister were overly optimistic. At worst, they’ve been asleep at the wheel while neglecting the industry’s challenges entirely. Meanwhile, our competitors in the region have already returned to their pre-pandemic tourism numbers.

Instead of relying on the Premier’s assurances, the Progressives Opposition has scrutinised the data to understand the reality. We have also talked to tourism workers and businesses to understand what they see and feel.

During the budget debate, while the government painted a picture of “full recovery,” I warned that stayover visitor numbers would merely reach 2017 levels, significantly below pre-pandemic figures. I also forecasted that cruise visitor numbers would hit a two-decade low.

The recently released tourism figures validate these predictions. Stayover numbers barely exceeded those of 2017, marking a 15% drop from 2019. Cruise numbers hit their lowest since 2001, plummeting by 31% compared to 2019.

I’m not celebrating getting this right and the government getting it so wrong; these depressed tourism numbers signal a need for action, not accolades or self-praise.

The tourism minister has at long last shown signs of acknowledging the urgency to act. An urgency we have been asking of him for some time. However, his proposals to revive the cruise dock debate and pursue the ‘Go East’ strategy lack innovation. And his new strategy of maintaining low targets shows a lack of ambition.

The Minister must unite the government and the private sector to devise a robust plan for the future of our tourism sector. Now is the time for the Cayman Islands to actually reimagine tourism, not just talk about it, and to create tourism products that will meet the changing patterns of visitor demands in the future in more sustainable ways.

This issue cannot be deferred until the government changes next year. As the Opposition, we stand ready to collaborate with the Premier and Minister, emphasizing the importance of revitalising tourism for the welfare of both industry workers and the future of the Cayman Islands as a whole.