Turtle Farm claims renewed hope with visitor increase

| 03/06/2010

(CNS): The home of the Cayman Islands Turtle Farm, Boatswain’s Beach, is claiming that its latest statistics show that both visitors and revenue have improved from the previous year, offering some encouragement about the viability of the controversial attraction. The farm said that when it compared the results from June 2008–April 2009 to the period of June 2009-April 2010, tours had increased at Boatswain’s Beach by some 2% and revenue from the tours was up almost $250,000 or 9%. Combined with the recent cost cutting measures introduced at the facility, the management and Board of Directors said this gives renewed hope about the long-term future of the attraction.

Chief of Sales Raymond Hydes, said the results were encouraging. “We are particularly pleased with the increasing success of our on-line ticket sales through the website, which went from under 500 bookings to almost 3,000 bookings,” he added. 
Managing Director Tim Adam, who has faced some difficult decisions recently, from increasing the price of turtle meat to cutting over twenty jobs, said the farm was focusing its efforts on optimizing tours and revenue per visitor. 
“We are evaluating all aspects of our operations for ways that we can improve the visitor experience, encourage higher levels of traffic through the facilities, and control our costs so that improvement in attendance contributes to sustainability of the attraction,” he said.
Last year the farm received around $10 million in subsidies from the public purse. With the anticipated budget cuts in the 2010/11 budget, which will be presented to the Legislative Assembly on 15 June, Boatswain Beach will be one of a number of statutory authorities which is expected to be facing significant subsidy reductions.
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  1. vocal local says:

    That time of year again!…where we hear; soon, we’re gonna be profitable, just need another few million.

    And where the overpaid CEO (only one of the overpaid management) have to earn his/their pay by justifying moooooooore millions to waste again. And also where the overpaid Premier then approves more money that we don’t have to keep his brainchild of a project going.

    Just close this unjustifyable waste of money already!

     

  2. Shellby says:

    Close it down…its a money hemorrhaging joke…
    Too many people with fingers in pies…Let Mr.A be his brother’s keeper…Jobs for the boys…Whos watching the books, like the fox guarding the chicken coop…We’re all just wasting our breath…

  3. Joe Bananas says:

    So losing only 5 million instead of 10 million a year is a success in Caymanspeak? Pure horseshit!  Its incredible to me that to be a failure in Cayman anything has to first reach complete and total failure before a change is implemented.  Just like the Cayman Government.  Not soon enough come!  The very definition of fool, fool which nowdays means the Cayman way of doing things.

  4. Anon Y. Mouse says:

    What about giving us the projections on the turtle meat?

  5. Anonymous says:

    Shut it down! There is no need to keep throwing good money after bad.

    We cannot afford to have a business that requires subsidies three times greater than total revenue, when that business offers little or nothing else to the greater economy.

    Simple math tells you that if the 100 employees were paid $50,000 each per year to stay at home and do nothing, we would save 5 million dollars per year.

    Cayman Airways is a similar issue, but the overall benefit to the economy from passengers brought in by Cayman Airways that might not have come here otherwise mitigates those losses, and having our own airlines for evacuations etc. leans me towards keeping Cayman Airways for a while longer.

    Now back to Boatswains Beach. Keep a handful of employees to tend to the turtles and conduct research and close the rest of it. If McKeeva wants to rid the government of expenses, other than tendering his own resignation I would suggest that he look at putting Boatswains Beach out to tender for a private entity to operate as a theme park.

    And for God’s sake stop talking about "inward" investment and start thinking about "inside" investment which is best for the country as a whole. There are probably enough people living here already with the wherewithal to make a success of it, but they will not take the risk because of political interference.

    We have far too many politicians and wannabe politicians singing the "inward" investment tune, when they really mean new sources of funds that they can skim some off the top for themselves. Obviously the people behind the money already here will not be handing it out nilly willy, so those with influence and those seeking influence continue in search of fresh blood like the mosquitoes we are famous for.

    Read the Auditor General’s report on the financing of Boatswain’s Beach if you want a good understanding of why these leeches on society love the "inward" investment theme song.

    • IRON CLAD says:

      Man or woman… you are sooo dead right. I couldn’t agree with you more. I can only add that the very one that sings that "Inward" in(w)estment song was the very one who did the "outward" invested of the millions of Public dollars on this failure called ‘Boatswain Beach’ in the first place. THat one was no other than McKee(w)a.

      Truly,

      IRON CLAD

  6. Anonymous says:

    Here’s a thought, use the 10 million subsidy or get an investor to add two or three giant waterslides eg like Blizzard beach ( in disney world)  and watch the tourists and cruise passengers and locals line up in the thousands to get in.That should eliminate any need for future subsidies ….might even bring down the price of turtle meat

    • IRON CLAD says:

      BRILLIANT IDEA!

      Ever wonder how these block-heads we have in Govt cannot possibly come up with ANY real solutions? It just blows me away.

      Truly IRON CLAD

  7. Anonymous says:

    I find admission prices are too high for non-residents.

    • Anonymous says:

      Agree, here’s  a thought, find an investorto add two or three giant monster water slides eg Blizzard beach (Disney world) and everyone including cruise passengers will glady line up to pay to go in…. revenue could even subsidise turtle meat