Agents on the Spot: Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism launched a specialist agents scheme in May 1997. More than 900 agents signed up for the six-month correspondence course and over 400 qualified as specialists. From these, 30 were invited to attend a grand final training challenge to compete for places on what was billed the educational of a lifetime. The eight winners spent a week island hopping, which included snorkelling with the stingrays, taking in beaches, a turtle farm, weird rock formations and resorts. We asked three agents for their impressions of the destination before and after the trip.

Before: I had never been to the Cayman Islands, or anywhere else in the Caribbean, and was very excited about going. I was expecting wonderful beaches and clear blue waters but was a little less sure about the things to see and do. Winning a place on the educational meant we already had to be pretty knowledgeable about the destination, but it is hard to gather the full atmosphere of a place from training modules. I was rarely asked about the Cayman Islands and I didn’t sell it very often.

After: This really was a fantastic trip. Grand Cayman has a lot to offer and the smaller islands are just like paradise. The highlights for me were swimming with the sting-rays and visiting the turtle farm. Both were really unique experiences and made you appreciate the conservation work going on there. The local people were incredibly friendly and chatty and travelling around with knowledgeable guides really meant we learned so much about the place. I can’t stop talking about the islands now – and if I earned a bit more I would certainly pay to go back! Our clients can’t generally afford the average £1,000 a head – that’s what they would pay for a family trip – but I still recommend it to everyone.

Before: I had been once before on a Kuoni educational and I knew a lot about the Cayman Islands from the training modules. The tourist office is so supportive and enthusiastic that I really wanted to return this support and that’s why I did the training. We sell a fair number of holidays to the Caribbean but clients tend to go for Jamaica or Barbados – largely because they feature more in the mass-market brochures and are cheaper.

After: This was an excellent trip and all those on it have stayed in touch and we still reminisce about how great it was. I rate the Cayman Islands very highly and recommended it so strongly in the office that one of my colleagues booked her wedding and honeymoon there and had a fantastic time. Although it can be more expensive than other parts of the Caribbean, the fact that there are not vast numbers of charter flights going there adds to its appeal and keeps it nice. Since our trip, British Airways has started nonstop flights to the Caymans and this has made it a lot easier to sell. I recommend it to a wide variety of clients and would love to go back myself.

Before: I had always loved the look of the Cayman Islands in the brochures and had actually paid to go on a three-day break there. That time I went all-inclusive and didn’t really do much touring around. Our branch doesn’t get huge demand for the Caribbean but our Falmouth offices have a lot of diving clients who often ring for advice on the destination. Many clients think that because a package is quite expensive, costs on the ground will be high too and that can put them off.

After: I saw so much more this time that I got a much better appreciation of all the things clients can see and do. The Cayman Islands are not just for divers by any means – I didn’t get on with diving but still did lots of water-sports and a submersible trip which really showed all the coral and wrecks brilliantly. I can’t fault the place – the accommodation is gorgeous and varied, the food is great, the beaches are beautiful and the people were really friendly. It’s a duty-free island and things are not as expensive as clients often think.