Bryan plans shake-up for regional tourism

(CNS): Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said Thursday that now he has taken on the chairmanship of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the issues on his agenda include the possible reduction of tourism taxes, the removal of travel visas and multi-destination tourism through better air connections across the Caribbean region.

Bryan said that while the Cayman Islands’ air passenger taxes are relatively low, and no commitment has been made by this jurisdiction to cut them, he still wants to get Caribbean ministers and International Air Transport Association (IATA) representatives together to discuss airfare prices in the coming months.

IATA Caribbean Aviation Day, with the theme of “Recover, Reconnect and Revive”, was held on Grand Cayman Wednesday as part of this week’s CTO conference. Speaking at a press conference the next day, Bryan outlined a number of issues that he believes would help with the recovery of tourism in this region, and said he wanted to address them head-on.

For many years airlines have been asking for tax reductions on air passengers to cut the cost of flying to this region and open the door for more airlines and better connection between the islands. However, Bryan said his ministry needed to “assess the pros and cons” of cutting any air travel-related fees, as he was aware there was a point when destinations can lose out by making it cheaper for visitors to fly in.

But while it…