Cayman Islands Cruise Referendum Approved

Cayman Islands Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan is expected to launch parliamentary debate on the cruise berthing referendum in early October – Photo credit: Brian Major

The Cayman Islands cabinet approved a public referendum on a cruise berthing facility that could impact the nation’s fate as a key Caribbean cruise port and determine the future of wider cruise industry deployment.

The referendum asks the question “Should the Cayman Islands develop cruise berthing infrastructure?” and will be held concurrently with the country’s 2025 general elections, the date for which has not been set. The Ministry of Tourism will hold an October 2 press conference to provide “further details and announcements,” said officials.

Previously, only Cayman Islands residents who registered to vote before July 1 would have been eligible to vote in the referendum. With the referendum now slated for 2025, voters can register by October 1 to be eligible, according to the Cayman Compass report.

Kenneth Bryan, the Cayman Islands tourism minister, is now expected to forward a parliamentary motion in early October that would seek lawmakers’ support to formalize the referendum, the Compass report says.

With cruise lines increasingly reluctant to transport guests to shore aboard ever-larger ships ashore via tender boats, the Cayman Islands, which lacks a fixed pier, has watched cruise arrivals decline sharply since 2022.

Fewer than four years ago, local voters defeated a referendum to construct the country’s first fixed cruise ship pier.

Parliamentary debate will be held on the motion in October. Cayman lawmakers will also determine if the question should be declared a “matter of national importance,” the Cayman Compass reports.

Should the motion pass, the government will publish a referendum bill, which would then undergo a 28-day public consultation process. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, the Cayman Islands premier, could waive the consultation period if she deems the matter sufficiently urgent.

This article originally appeared in TravelPulse.