News

New hotel plans for Cayman, confidence in Cayman has spread to the cruise sector

The completion of Cayman’s comprehensive waste management project remains several years away.

As published in the Cayman Compass: TUESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2014 The temporary extension of the departure lounge at Owen Roberts International Airport, left, will accommodate an additional 229 passengers when it opens in early January. – Photo: Cayman Islands Airports Authority Work has begun on

A series of tests are under way to determine the impact of the George Town Landfill site on the surrounding environment, including the North Sound.

Citing seven new multimillion-dollar hotel and tourism projects in the works, Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell told legislators investor confidence is returning to the Cayman Islands.

The Dart group has bought the old Hyatt resort, the nine-hole Britannia Golf Course and the Beach Suites hotel, which will close following the sale. The historic Hyatt hotel, once an icon of Caymans tourism industry, has not been redeveloped since sustaining significant damage during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

The recently released IRR Viewpoint Caribbean Market Update 2016 Annual Report, written by James V. Andrews of Integra Realty Resources Caribbean, highlights some interesting discussion points when it comes to the state of Caribbean economies, especially in relation to real estate.

As recently as October 2015 I wrote how I saw the $2 million plus area of the residential homes market as remaining a difficult one for buyers to sell their properties in the short term. These properties are not moving anywhere near to the degree of other inventory, I wrote. Indeed, only ten homes of $3 million and above had been sold over the past three years. However, I also noted that I felt the market was about to change: Going forward, however, I see this becoming less of an issue. This is because desirable parcels of land are becoming increasingly less available. I went on to say that I believe as a result there will be a shift in the coming months and properties in the $2.5 million region will become a lot more appealing.

The total investments of non-residents in local financial assets was estimated at $119.3 billion by the end of 2014, according to a new report from the Economic and Statistics Office.

Cruise ship passengers still will not be able to gamble within Cayman Islands territorial waters next year, but gambling will be allowed on ships flying the Cayman Islands flag for the first time.