The Cayman Islands is a premium holiday destination

Cayman Islands

Located south of Miami, the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands is a premium holiday destination that comprises the trio of Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac islands. To protect the delicate ecosystems of the archipelago, the local government, members of the tourism industry and island residents come together to implement sustainability measures. This is geared to letting visitors know there is a ‘greener and cleaner’ way to enjoy the Cayman Islands. 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 

With plastic pollution one of the major environmental problems the world faces, the Cayman Islands established a voluntary recycling programme in the late ‘90s. In recent years, many local businesses have taken further measures in choosing not to use single-use plastic products, such as straws and bags, instead offering alternatives made from paper, bamboo or other reusable materials. The Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa created a Community Bike & Walking Trail using recycled glass aggregate, and diverted millions of glass bottles away from landfills. www.seafireresortandspa.com

Plastic Free Cayman was formed in 2018 to raise awareness and move the islands toward a plastic-free approach. www.plasticfreecayman.com 

Stay with a clean conscience 

The Kimpton Seafire Resort has installed 100,000 watts of solar panels that cover the entire roof of the building, as well as using LED lighting across all of its rooms. Set to open in Q2 2024, the 282-room 10- storey beachfront Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman is being built to LEED standards, will use a geothermal/ice storage combination and feature insulated glazing throughout to reduce energy consumption. www.grandcayman.hotelindigo.com

Saving the Seas 

Marine Parks have been long established in Grand Cayman to protect coral reefs and other ecosystems, which has the added benefit of increasing resilience to climate change. www.doe.ky/marine/marine-parks/ 

The National Conservation Council, allows the Cayman Islands to protect and conserve endangered, threatened, and endemic plants, wildlife and their habitats through policy informed by the scientific research of the Cayman Islands Department of Environment. www.conservation.ky 

Bloody Bay Marine Park 

Cayman Islands

Visitors looking to explore Cayman’s most pristine underwater ecosystems can request of their dive operator to visit Bloody Bay Marine Park, where coral formations thousands of years old thrive in crystal clear waters plunging to depths of 6,000m. This Marine Protected Area is just one of several across the islands where fishing and water activities are regulated to promote sustainable use of natural resources. The Little Cayman Research Centre located adjacent to Bloody Bay Marine Park is home to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute dedicated to preserving vibrant oceans and healthy reefs. www.reefresearch.org 

Protecting birdlife 

The Cayman Islands has 253 bird species, making the region a lure ornithologists. The red-footed booby is a large brown and white seabird with, as the name suggests, bright red feet and a long, dagger-like beak. Little Cayman is home to one of the biggest colonies of red-footed boobies in the Western Hemisphere, where visitors can observe them at the dedicated Booby Pond Nature Reserve. The Little Cayman Booby Pond and Rookery is managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands and, also a dedicated Ramsar site, it is home to approximately 7,000 red-footed booby birds; this accounts for at least 30% of the Caribbean’s total population of these beautiful birds and their distinctive red feet. www.nationaltrust.org

Blue Iguana & Turtle Conservation 

The Cayman Islands is home to both the rare blue iguana, as well as its sister, the rock iguana. Indigenous to Grand Cayman (and the only place in the world where they are found in the wild), blue iguanas faced a bleak future at the turn of this century. In 2002, the blue iguana was declared ‘functionally extinct’ with only an estimated 25 of the species remaining. With an extensive breeding programme, in 2018, the 1000th iguana was released back into the wild and the figure now stands nearer 1700. Ranging in colour from a blueish-grey shade to a vivid azure depending on temperature, mood and mating season, and with red eyes, these creatures can live up to 50 years. They can be seen at the Blue Iguana Conservation facility at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, where all entry fees help support Blue Iguana Conservation. Strolling the 65-acre green space, visitors will also come across an orchid garden that features four blooms endemic to Grand Cayman and a butterfly garden with five species that also are only found here. Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre (CTCEC) on Grand Cayman has recently received The Travelife Partner award for sustainability. The accolade was presented in recognition of the long-term efforts and front-runner position of CTCEC regarding sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. CTCEC, a conservation, education and scientific research organisation, is one of the tourist attractions in the Cayman Islands. It works on the conservation of sea turtles and other indigenous animals and CTCEC is the first organisation in the Cayman Islands to have reached the Travelife Partner award. 

Reconnect with Nature 

With a varied terrain that ranges from rugged cliffs and lush woodlands, to beaches and caves, the islands offer hiking, biking, horse-riding, climbing, snorkelling, kayaking, caving and diving. The Mastic Trail is part of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands and offers an easy to moderate hiking route through mangrove wetlands and rare trees such as cedar and mahogany, as well as the region’s national plant, the wild banana orchid. Visitors can also encounter wildlife such as the Cayman’s native parrot, tropical butterflies, lizards, and large hermit crabs. www.nationaltrust.org.ky/ourwork/conservation/blue-iguanaconservation/, www.botanic-park.ky, www.turtle.ky/news-press-releases/travelifepartner-sustainability-award and nationaltrust.org.ky/ourwork/environmental/mastic-trail/ 

Sustainable Seafood 

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands likes to consider itself the ‘Culinary Capital of the Caribbean’ thanks to the region’s high quality local produce, with fresh fish and seafood playing an important part in the archipelago’s gastronomic offering. Cayman Sea Sense helps restaurants and their customers make informed and environmentally positive seafood choices. Another important element of preservation efforts is the control of the lionfish population, a non-native species of predators that threatens Caribbean reefs and local small fish. The Cayman United Lionfish League (CULL) organises a quarterly lionfish culling to remove these pernicious invasive predators, and restaurants across the islands occasionally offering fresh lionfish on their menus in a variety of dishes, ranging from lionfish ceviche, to fried lionfish tacos. www.visitcaymanislands.com/engb/memories/culinary-capital-of-thecaribbean, www.nationaltrust.org.ky/wpcontent/uploads/2019/09/Sea-SenseGuide2.pdf and www.cita.ky/cayman-unitedlionfish-league---culling-the-lionfish 

Farm-to-table dining 

There’s the chance to learn about locally grown ingredients and how these appear in dishes during a moonlit dinner at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman. Every month, there is a six-course meal which champions local produce in innovative ways, as well as the rare opportunity to enjoy a late-night stroll through the park. 

* www.visitcaymanislands.com 

* Sarah Barnett at sarah.barnett@whitetigerpr.com