🏝️ PPM leader criticizes tourism minister over low visitor numbers

Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart has publicly criticized Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan over the final visitor count for 2023 and what he perceives as a lack of ambition for the 2024 target. McTaggart pointed out that most regional competitors have already recovered their pre-pandemic arrival numbers. However, by the end of 2023, Cayman had only reached 85% of its record-breaking half a million stayover guests from 2019. McTaggart believes urgent action is needed to rejuvenate the tourism sector. 📉

In a video message, McTaggart accused the government of complacency and inaction regarding the struggling tourism industry. Despite the government collecting a record-breaking sum in accommodation tax, the Progressives want a return to the large numbers of both cruise passengers and stayover guests that arrived before the pandemic. McTaggart is advocating for action to attract more tourists to support the businesses and jobs that rely on the sector. He described the current state of the Cayman Islands tourism industry as extremely worrying and called for innovative strategies and collaborative efforts to focus on sustainable tourist products and ensure the industry's future prosperity. 🏖️

McTaggart also stated that the Progressives could help develop a strategic tourism model, which he claimed could be sustainable. He argued that waiting for the next election and a new government would be too late. He also criticized the new UPM premier and tourism minister for being overly optimistic, as the predictions for the end of 2024 also fell below the 2019 peak. 📊