(CNS Business): Passengers arriving in the Cayman Islands on cruise ships fell to another worrying low in April, one not seen since 2001. Only 123,422 people came to Grand Cayman on board a cruise ship during the month, despite the Easter Break. April saw a more than 15% decline on 2012, which was already down slightly on 2011, which in turn had seen a dramatic fall from the 2010 figure. The last time Cayman saw fewer arrivals at George Town Harbour was back in 2001, when only 106,152 passengers arrived here. In addition, April was the third month in a row to see a decline in cruise numbers.

(CNS Business): The Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman and Cayman Safari Adventures on Grand Cayman both recently earned TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence as a result of positive feedback from users on the world’s largest travel site. To qualify for the certificate businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher out of a possible five, as reviewed by travellers, and only about 10 percent of the resorts, restaurants, watersports operators, service providers and other tourism-related businesses around the world that are reviewed receive the award.

(CNS Business): The Kittiwake dive site has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award, which is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on the popular website. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award, according to the Cayman Islands Tourism Association. To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, the Kittiwake had to maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor, and had to have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. 

(CNS Business): Despite comments by the former minority government that it was still investigating the value of the Ritz-Carlton sale before it was prepared to register the transfer, it appears that the last act of the interim PNA Cabinet was to accept the price and complete the transfer. Officials from Five Mile Capital Partners LLC announced Friday that some seven months after the sale the Cayman Islands Land Registry registered the transfers of Ritz-Carlton properties to the subsidiaries of RC Cayman Holdings LLC, RC Cayman Hotel Holdings Ltd and RC Cayman Property Holdings Ltd, new owners of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

(CNS Business): Tourism officials celebrated a recording-breaking March with the best air arrivals figure since the Department of Tourism began keeping official statistics in 2000. However, the record breaking number of stayover visitors was dampened by the figures for the George Town port, as cruise arrival statistics plummeted to a low not seen for some 12 years. According to the latest figures from the DoT, 43,327 people arrived in the Cayman Islands by air in March, which is not only the busiest March on record but is the most passengers to arrive in a one month period in the islands’ history. 

(CNS Business): Around 70 Cayman Islands Tourism Association members attended this year’s CITA AGM, where Ken Hydes, Camana Bay’s VP, was elected as president of the private sector tourism body. Harry Lalli, the outgoing president, talked about the challenging times for tourism industry but noted that stayover numbers have increased every year for the past three years, which he said was down to the partnership of the tourism ministry and department with the private sector. Meanwhile, Hydes said CITA was positioned to be the driving force in the development of the industry, as he thanked Lalli for his past contribution.

(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) has placed the cruise business as its number one issue the private sector organisation wants candidates in the May General Election to publicly declare their positions on. CITA has now asked all the political hopefuls for their feedback regarding the six tourism issues that its members feel are most crucial to the industry. The association is asking for responses by 15 April but has not said when, or even if,  the policy positions of candidates will be made available to the general public. Included on the list of hot topics is gaming, now legal throughout most of the Caribbean, which was “reaping the benefits”, the organisation representing the industry said. 

(CNS Business): The demolition of the remaining concrete structure on the site of the former Courtyard Marriott will begin this week, officials from Dart Reality have stated. The developer said in a release on Monday evening that Jairam Building Contractors will carry out the work on the old five-story building to make way for the new resort under the supervision of its construction manager DECCO. The contractor will use a class of equipment known as Ultra-High Demolition to dismantle the remaining structure, the firm said in a release. The four weeks of work will start at the top and much of the material will be recycled.

(CNS Business): Five culinary students from the Tourism Apprenticeship Training Programme (TATP) showed off their newly acquired culinary skills at a special lunch recently demonstrating what they had learned on the government backed training programme. Sixteen guests were treated to an Italian style meal in the Hospitality training room at the UCCI by the student chefs Ahmed Myles, Kimani Davis, Carl Lewis, Rochelle Conolly – Rose and Monique Connolly under the supervision of Food and Beverage teacher Tanique Dunbar. Dalton Watler, Deputy Chief Officer in the Ministry of Tourism said by demonstrating their skills this way the TATP Students showed that important strides were being made with the programme which is fulfilling its mission of developing technical and vocational expertise in young people.

(CNS Busines): RC Cayman has filed a second legal action against the Cayman Islands Government regarding the dispute over the sale price of the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. The new owners of the resort, which is fighting for government to honour the transaction, has filed an application for Judicial Review seeking a legal decision over instructions to the chief valuation officer (CVO) to get another valuation of the hotel after the sale. The hotel reportedly received a letter from the CVO on 22 March saying it was re-valuing the price, despite the previous agreement between the new owners and the valuation officer.

(CNS Business): While the number of overnight visitors to Cayman keeps on breaking records, the cruise sector took an expected dip in February, when arrival numbers fell by more than 8%. The tourism industry was boosted, however, with another great month as visitors flying into Owen Roberts International Airport during the second month of the year were the highest for February for more than a decade, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Tourism. 31,966 overnight guests came to Cayman in the month, which was the best since 2001, when some 34,000 visitors came to the islands.

(CNS Business): The Department of Tourism has joined forces with Brides magazine to offer a couple the honeymoon of a lifetime as part of a wedding planned entirely by its readers. The social reality wedding contest, in which every aspect of the couple’s wedding – from the dress and shoes to the rings and the tuxedo – will be voted upon and selected by people all over the world, includes a choice of four possible Cayman honeymoon options to be chosen by the public. Director of TourismShomari Scott said the DoT goal with the partnership on "Brides Live Weddings" was to show that Cayman was the best place for romance and that it is “ahead of the curve” compared to other destinations.

(CNS Business): The Morritts Resort, located in Grand Cayman’s East End, has been selected as the 2013 "Best Timeshare Resort - Latin America" by Perspective Magazine, an industry independent trade publication. The resort comprises nearly 190 units and its future development plans include almost doubling the its size over the next decade. Paul Mattimoe, President and CEO of the Perspective Group congratulated the Morritts team and described the location as “unparalleled” along with its “impressive accommodations, and excellent personal service” which, he added, were significant factors in the judges' decision.

(CNS Business): The property on Cayman Brac owned by Divi Resorts Group is not for sale and the firm is committed to re-developing the resort when the global economic business environment supports such development, according to President & CEO, EJ Schanfarber. Divi Tiara Beach Resort, a 51-room hotel with 12 timeshare units, closed on the 23 September 2006 with the loss of 37 jobs on the island. But the hotel chain, which has a number of resorts in Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, St Croix, and St Maarten, does plan to rebuild on the Brac, especially since it offers the opportunity to build an eco-friendly resort from the ground up that is integrated with the fragile environment of the island. (Left: Divi Tiara in better days)

(CNS Business): Following a record breaking year for tourism in 2012 Cayman has made another great start to 2013 for both cruise and overnight visitors. Statistics released by the department of tourism for January indicated that 2013 could be another record breaking year for the tourism sector. Although local businesses continue to experience tough times the DoT appears to be doing its part to bring guests to Cayman with arrival figures the best for more than a decade.  In the first month of the year 28,736 people flew into Cayman which was not only a more than 9% increase on 2012’s record breaking January it is the second best number since the DoT began keeping records.