Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, June 27, 2016 – The Cayman Islands tourism industry depends on visitors each year to stimulate the economy and contribute to the overall success of our country. This includes visitors from the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. The people of the United Kingdom have made a decision through a democratic process to exit the European Union. As we witness this historical event the Cayman Islands acknowledges the connection through sovereignty and business relations that underpin the Cayman Islands stability and tourism performance. The British Government will now appoint a new Prime Minister and deliver the framework to formally exit the European Union along with negotiating the exit terms; there are a few points to highlight at this juncture:

1. The exit from the European Union is governed with the requirement for any member country to provide a two year notice period.
2. The decision to exit affected the value of the Great Britain Pound and global stock market performance but this is projected to stabilise.

The United Kingdom and Continental Europe account for approximately 9% of annual stay-over visitors to the Cayman Islands and is considered one of our secondary source markets along with Canada. The impact on the Cayman Islands Tourism industry is unpredictable and considering the anticipated length of time for the United Kingdom to successfully exit the European Union; the impact will not be immediate to the Cayman Islands. It would be irresponsible of my ministry to make any further statement on potential impact. The Ministry and Department of Tourism are closely monitoring the situation and when there are clear indicators of potential impact to our tourism industry, we will ensure that strategies are appropriately designed to support this evolving situation.