Above: Grand Cayman

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Cayman Islands is predicting a nearly 300,000-passenger increase in cruise arrivals this year, according to Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell.

The Minister made the revelation a few weeks after the recent Cruise Shipping Miami conference.

“As a result of previous negotiations with cruise operators, roughly 1.65 million passengers are projected to visit Cayman in 2014, growing to approximately 1.9 million passengers in 2015,” he said. :Consequently, our ability to provide a more convenient, satisfying and pleasurable passenger experience is important to the cruise lines, which are keen to ensure their customer satisfaction ratings are optimum.”

The 1.65 million passengers projected for 2014 would be about a 300,000-passenger improvement over 2013, he said.

“The FCCA and cruise representatives were interested to hear about the about developments that my Ministry has implemented to provide positive impacts on the cruise passenger experience over the short term,” Kirkconnell said. “Furthermore, in addition to exchanging relevant information, such meetings also help to develop more cohesive working relationships with cruise lines, and strengthens the spirit of partnership between our organization.”

The Cayman Islands is currently working on a long-term project to build a cruise berth in George Town.