Canada’s Sunwing has reported that it will be debuting its service to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands come early next year.

The tour operator,in its quest to enter into the Cayman market, has announced a new seasonal flight service from Toronto to Grand Cayman scheduled to commence on February 2 through to May 3, 2020.

According to reports from the Caribbean Journal “the flights will be operated once weekly on Sundays and will be a big boost for Cayman from the Canadian market”.

Sunwing, which is rated as a low-cost airline, provides chartered and scheduled flights from Canada and the USA to destinations within the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. The company already has a broad footprint across the wider Caribbean, operating in other parts of the region such as Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Sint Maarten, St Vincent & the Grenadines and St Lucia.

Andrew Dawson, president of tour operations for Sunwing in commenting on the move said that the destination is a suitable one which will provide Canadians with more alternatives while vacationing during winter.

“We are excited to be offering travellers departing from Toronto Pearson even more ways to ‘Vacation Better’ this winter with the addition of this new destination. With its pristine beaches and picturesque landscapes, we’re sure that Grand Cayman will be a popular choice amongst Torontonian sun-seekers,” he said.

In venturing into the Cayman market, the company said that they will be promoting the destination by highlighting Grand Cayman’s Margaritaville Beach Resort on Seven Mile beach for travellers from Toronto.

Director of tourism, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Rosa Harris, in celebrating the news, said that, “We are so pleased to welcome Sunwing in offering Canadians with more opportunities to visit the Cayman Islands. We are proud to share our exceptional attractions—from our pristine Seven Mile Beach to the Crystal Caves— and, as the ‘Culinary Capital of the Caribbean’, our diverse and exceptional restaurants.”

Sunwing’s debut to Grand Cayman comes on the heels of Caribbean Airlines’ launching of flights from Kingston to Grand Cayman on December 17, of which the operators said that non-stop service will be offered twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

“With all of the routes, we look at demand and we try to make a calculated estimate, because we don’t want planes that are flying empty. Based on research, it was determined that Tuesdays and Saturdays were the best days. Typically people like to go to [Grand Cayman] and spend a few days and then come back, and as that starts to evolve then we’ll see if the flight starts to get 100 per cent capacity; and if we’re getting demands for other days then we can expand and add other planes,” Zachary Harding, board director at Caribbean Airlines, said.

— Kellaray Miles