Cayman’s dive industry fights to stay afloat

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A cayman airways representative told me today that they are using a two month window to cancel booked flights. She said we could expect our mid March spring break tickets to be cancelled by the end of December.
 
There is no doubt that the tourism business has taken a massive hit - no cruises, no hotels, no dive ops...

Opening up to any tourists before COVID-19 is brought under some degree of control worldwide (which it most definitely isn't yet) is going to open up a risk to the residents on the island, who are completely COVID-free and have been for weeks or months, now. All the positive cases were already in quarantine on arrival on the island.

Cayman has thus far been pretty risk-averse. That will be a big change if that changes.

Tourism is very much teetering on a cliff right now. Business are dying. 5,000 work permit holders have left the island, and Caymanians are starting to lose their jobs. Just this week, the Ritz, Westin and Kimpton just laid off over 500 workers between them. Restaurants are closing. Snorkeling operators are doing anything they can think of to make ends meet, and failing. Homes are being foreclosed on. Pension money, which we've been allowed to withdrawal is running out. All of these are stories reported in the local media.

Think for a second, when the borders do reopen, how hard it will be for tourism companies to get 5,000 employees back here. Recruiting, interviewing, and flying in 5,000 workers who all live overseas. How about the Department of Immigration trying to process 5,000 work permits in a few months?

It's great Cayman does not have instances of community transmission of COVID (that we know of) and I applaud government for their diligence in the initial stages of this pandemic. However, there's some issues as I see it - we have COVID on the island. Quite a few cases I'd add. All of these individuals are in quarantine. Why is this? Many are shocked to learn, that unlike most other islands in the Caribbean, Cayman does not require a negative pre-arrival test to board the plane. This of course needs to change.

CITA, Reopen Cayman, and other organizations have examined the data from other Caribbean islands. We've studied what they have done right, and learned from what they have not done right. With a proper, layered and dynamic protocol, we can safely reopen the islands, and have virtually no risk to the tourism workers or the community at large.

Well the good news is that the vaccine might be on the way....

Cayman could get COVID vaccine for Christmas - Cayman Islands Headline News

(actually heard from someone in the medical field that enough is already here for 20% of the population, but not reported anywhere, so just a rumor at the moment ....)

Funny enough, in the last CITA board meeting this came up. Members of the board know many key people in Government. Half the BOD members can pick up the phone and call the Premiere, Deputy Premier or any Cabinet Member at 9:00 on a Saturday night and have the phone answered. I can't provide specifics, but we have heard many conflicting rumors about this vaccine, so I'd be careful believing any word of mouth on this topic.

Also, as I just posted here, the vaccine is not a magic bullet. Vaccine, Negative PCR & Repeat Testing Proposed for Travelers to Cayman

Tony
 
Tourism is very much teetering on a cliff right now. Business are dying.

I admire the strong effort the Caymans is making to fight COVID (except that lack of negative screening prior to flying in seems odd). On other hand hand, I read trip reports from divers going to Cozumel for good times (and spending money there)...while Cayman tourism you not is very much teetering on the brink.

In your post in the other thread, you mentioned the UK has no formal plans to issue 'immunity passports' to people who get immunized (which may not include kids or pregnant women for awhile). I wonder whether other islands will, and to what extent more rigorous restrictions might put the Caymans at a 'tourist draw disadvantage?'

Got a feeling 2021's going to be an interesting year.

Follow up question. In the U.S., taking a 1-week traveling vacation is pretty standard. One of the advantages of some European nations over the U.S. is the widespread requirement for annual vacation time (e.g.: 4 weeks), and that Europeans sometimes take longer vacations. Any idea how many tourists to the Caymans stay longer than a week? I'm thinking you get a number of people who aren't Americans; what about them? People can tolerate more hassles for a longer vacation once settled in.
 
In your post in the other thread, you mentioned the UK has no formal plans to issue 'immunity passports' to people who get immunized (which may not include kids or pregnant women for awhile). I wonder whether other islands will, and to what extent more rigorous restrictions might put the Caymans at a 'tourist draw disadvantage?'

Here's what I worry about. As this drags on, unemployment will rise, along with civil unrest and crime rates. I'm an expat, I can always go home to Florida. Unemployed native Caymanians don't have that luxury. Cayman will lose its competitive edge in the market as a result. Cayman is known as a safe, clean, luxury destination, and this reputation will gradually falter. Investors will lose confidence investing in business and properly and it will start a downward spiral.

CITA, and other organizations like Reopen Cayman have been cast in a negative light currently. Every time one of our press releases goes out, comments on social media are usually negative - here's some rich business owners trying to get more rich. Marc Langevin, GM of the Ritz and President of CITA gets it the worst. What people fail to realize is Mr Langevin is less concerned about his own personal wealth - he will continue to eat dinner every night - and more for the welfare of his recently laid off housekeepers and grounds crew, servers, and other low-wage employees who live paycheck to paycheck, and now have nothing.

We've been looking at data from Aruba, Bermuda, St Lucia, Turks and Caicos, Barbados, USVI, Bahamas, St Kitts, Anguilla, and the BVI. All of these islands are open, and all of them (with the exception of the Bahamas, who have made some serious mistakes) are keeping the issue relatively in hand. USVI is actually doing quite well, with over 5000 air arrivals weekly and 70% occupancy. The A Safe & Measured Reopening For The Cayman Islands | Reopen Cayman site has some insight into what some of the phased opening proposals are. Understand I've seen quite a bit of data over the last month, some of it is not for public release, and much of it changes on a daily basis, so I have to be careful what I post publicly.

Bermuda is a good example to look at. They've had an uprising in community spread cases lately. However it's very important to note that Bermuda has 2 different protocols for air arrivals - one for visitors and one for returning residents, which is far more lax and does not require a pre-arrival test. According to the data we've been provided, the community outbreak has been contact traced to returning residents who did not honor their isolation/quarantine protocols. There have been no instances we are aware of, of community transmission from visitors arriving to Bermuda. As Cayman allows returning residents, the vary same outbreak could just as easily occur here.

Cayman is already at a disadvantage. People wish to travel, and they are traveling. Our inbox is full of "is the border open" emails. If they cannot come to Cayman, they will (and are) going elsewhere. Customers who were loyal to Cayman, are discovering other islands are safe and clean, and we are slowly losing brand loyalty.


Follow up question. In the U.S., taking a 1-week traveling vacation is pretty standard. One of the advantages of some European nations over the U.S. is the widespread requirement for annual vacation time (e.g.: 4 weeks), and that Europeans sometimes take longer vacations. Any idea how many tourists to the Caymans stay longer than a week? I'm thinking you get a number of people who aren't Americans; what about them? People can tolerate more hassles for a longer vacation once settled in.

I don't have figures on how many stay longer than a week. I don't have my DOT report handy, and I'm not sure it even says in any case. Certainly some do. We have folks like Mike on this board, who in a normal world, stay here 6 months of the year. We have lots of business people who will stay here, sometimes for months on end, and dive between their business days. We have fractional condo owners who will stay here for the duration of their time slot - sometimes 6-8 weeks per year. However the vast majority tend to dome down for a week at a time. Due to our proximity and direct flights to places like South Florida, Houston, Atlanta, and even the Northeast US, some people just come for long weekends.

I can tell you though, about 85% of tourists here are from the United States, with about 7% Canadian. European countries are a very small part of our tourism demographic, so the long stays from these travelers is certainly in the minority.

Tony
 
I admire the strong effort the Caymans is making to fight COVID (except that lack of negative screening prior to flying in seems odd). On other hand hand, I read trip reports from divers going to Cozumel for good times (and spending money there)...while Cayman tourism you not is very much teetering on the brink.

In your post in the other thread, you mentioned the UK has no formal plans to issue 'immunity passports' to people who get immunized (which may not include kids or pregnant women for awhile). I wonder whether other islands will, and to what extent more rigorous restrictions might put the Caymans at a 'tourist draw disadvantage?'

Got a feeling 2021's going to be an interesting year.

Follow up question. In the U.S., taking a 1-week traveling vacation is pretty standard. One of the advantages of some European nations over the U.S. is the widespread requirement for annual vacation time (e.g.: 4 weeks), and that Europeans sometimes take longer vacations. Any idea how many tourists to the Caymans stay longer than a week? I'm thinking you get a number of people who aren't Americans; what about them? People can tolerate more hassles for a longer vacation once settled in.

Here's what I worry about. As this drags on, unemployment will rise, along with civil unrest and crime rates. I'm an expat, I can always go home to Florida. Unemployed native Caymanians don't have that luxury. Cayman will lose its competitive edge in the market as a result. Cayman is known as a safe, clean, luxury destination, and this reputation will gradually falter. Investors will lose confidence investing in business and properly and it will start a downward spiral.

CITA, and other organizations like Reopen Cayman have been cast in a negative light currently. Every time one of our press releases goes out, comments on social media are usually negative - here's some rich business owners trying to get more rich. Marc Langevin, GM of the Ritz and President of CITA gets it the worst. What people fail to realize is Mr Langevin is less concerned about his own personal wealth - he will continue to eat dinner every night - and more for the welfare of his recently laid off housekeepers and grounds crew, servers, and other low-wage employees who live paycheck to paycheck, and now have nothing.

We've been looking at data from Aruba, Bermuda, St Lucia, Turks and Caicos, Barbados, USVI, Bahamas, St Kitts, Anguilla, and the BVI. All of these islands are open, and all of them (with the exception of the Bahamas, who have made some serious mistakes) are keeping the issue relatively in hand. USVI is actually doing quite well, with over 5000 air arrivals weekly and 70% occupancy. The A Safe & Measured Reopening For The Cayman Islands | Reopen Cayman site has some insight into what some of the phased opening proposals are. Understand I've seen quite a bit of data over the last month, some of it is not for public release, and much of it changes on a daily basis, so I have to be careful what I post publicly.

Bermuda is a good example to look at. They've had an uprising in community spread cases lately. However it's very important to note that Bermuda has 2 different protocols for air arrivals - one for visitors and one for returning residents, which is far more lax and does not require a pre-arrival test. According to the data we've been provided, the community outbreak has been contact traced to returning residents who did not honor their isolation/quarantine protocols. There have been no instances we are aware of, of community transmission from visitors arriving to Bermuda. As Cayman allows returning residents, the vary same outbreak could just as easily occur here.

Cayman is already at a disadvantage. People wish to travel, and they are traveling. Our inbox is full of "is the border open" emails. If they cannot come to Cayman, they will (and are) going elsewhere. Customers who were loyal to Cayman, are discovering other islands are safe and clean, and we are slowly losing brand loyalty.




I don't have figures on how many stay longer than a week. I don't have my DOT report handy, and I'm not sure it even says in any case. Certainly some do. We have folks like Mike on this board, who in a normal world, stay here 6 months of the year. We have lots of business people who will stay here, sometimes for months on end, and dive between their business days. We have fractional condo owners who will stay here for the duration of their time slot - sometimes 6-8 weeks per year. However the vast majority tend to dome down for a week at a time. Due to our proximity and direct flights to places like South Florida, Houston, Atlanta, and even the Northeast US, some people just come for long weekends.

I can tell you though, about 85% of tourists here are from the United States, with about 7% Canadian. European countries are a very small part of our tourism demographic, so the long stays from these travelers is certainly in the minority.

Tony

I also think that it is rather odd that they aren't requiring negative covid tests before you get on the plane for the Cayman Islands. Of course it's not 100% reliable, but I can tell you that I felt safer when traveling to St. Croix recently because I knew that everyone on the plane had recently tested negative.
 
My response was more of a trivia answer when the question was asked about the average age of the customer. I happened to have the DOT report on my desk. Also worth noting that according to DOT exit surveys, only 3.4% of stay over tourists come to Cayman to dive.

To address your other statement - will availability of shore diving move the needle on divers coming here? Probably not. Solo diving will likely make no difference either. People tend to like what they like. As I said before, some divers like shore diving, some don't. Thats why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I would say however each site is different, and if you've only done the shore diving at Cobalt, I'd encourage you to try other locations. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. People rave about Turtle Reef at Macabuca. Eden Rock is amazing as well. Here at Lighthouse Point, our main wall is the same distance from shore as the mini wall is a Cobalt. The main wall is spectacular, with canyons, huge relief on the wall itself, and some cool things to explore. At one point our shore location was voted the 4th best shore dive worldwide.



The gist of the proposal was this:
  • Solo divers had to be solo certified from a recognized agency
  • Solo divers had to be equipped with separate, redundant air sources
  • No dive shop, dive boat, dive guide HAD to accept shore divers. Only if the facility approved of solo diving, and the diver's plan
It was felt by some, that solo diving would increase Cayman's accident rate. At some point we will revisit the issue when things return to normal, and I'll likely be soliciting support from solo diving enthusiasts.

Tony
As a solo diver (certified) since 2005 it would be fantastic if Caymans allowed solo diving. There surely must be data for solo safety issues you can draw on?
 
I feel for all those suffering the economic impact from the pandemic and government responses both here and abroad. Each government must decide what they think is best for their country and situation. Only time will tell as to who is making the better decisions and only then can that really be done without the benefit of hindsight. Of course saying this provides no relief or comfort for those suffering now from the loss of a job, income and a business one has worked so hard to build up over the years. I hope all impacted will recover.

As far as GC, I hope they reopen as soon as they can with only those restrictions in place that are truly necessary. Putting up with all these restrictions these past nine months is wearing thin as I suspect it is for many others. Once the vaccine is distributed and it is shown to be as effective as represented, I would like to shed these restrictions, or most of them, as soon as practical. Once I start traveling again my decision on where to travel will be based in part on whether I view the restrictions then in place as reasonable or not.

I thought I read somewhere that GC was contemplating that when they reopen, a traveler will have to be vaccinated (which sounds reasonable to me) but then also be required to take the time during the stay to report somewhere to submit to more covid testing (which does not).
 

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