The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism has launched ‘Welcome to vaCay’ – a $12 million global campaign positioning the destination as an antidote to overbooked, high-stress travel.
Developed with global agency Grey New York and set to roll out over five years, the promotion redefines luxury as something effortless and restorative – spotlighting Cayman’s natural beauty, world-class dining and, above all, its people.
The new direction marks a distinct shift from 2019’s ‘Dream in Cayman’ campaign – produced by The Richards Group – which portrayed the islands in an idealised, animated style. Where the earlier campaign was more rooted in a dreamlike aesthetic, ‘Welcome to vaCay’ turns the lens toward real life, favouring authenticity over fantasy.
Invited guests filled Camana Bay Cinemas on 6 Oct. for a first look at the new promotion and a documentary on its creation. While it wasn’t marketed as such, the evening felt like a tribute to the people of Cayman and the Caymankind spirit.
Emceed by Gary Hendricks-Dominguez, deputy director of international marketing and promotions at the Department of Tourism, the programme featured remarks from Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Gary Rutty and Director of Tourism Rosa Harris, with Premier André Ebanks among the VIPs in attendance.
“This campaign represents a milestone for how we evolved as a destination, and it sends a signal to the world that the Cayman Islands are setting a new standard for what a vacation truly means,” said Rutty in his address.
Rutty highlighted that one of the campaign’s defining features was that it was “largely built by Caymanians”, describing that aspect as “especially meaningful”.
‘Our greatest asset is our people’
More than 85% of the cast and crew were local and the creative agency behind the project was chosen through close collaboration with Cayman’s private sector.
“Our culture and our people are the heart of the story, from the narration by Caymanian actress Rita Estevanovich to the breathtaking backdrops of our three islands, every frame reflects who we are,” Rutty said, stressing that “this campaign is more than advertising – it’s a lifestyle and an identity that no other destination can authentically own. … ‘Welcome to vaCay’ is not just a showcase of our islands, it is a wonderful tribute to the people who make them extra special.”
Rutty underscored that tourism “has always been about people”, adding that Cayman is “spearheading a new era” by putting that principle front and centre. “Our greatest asset is not our sun, sea or sand,” he said. “Our greatest asset is our people.”
He noted that government is committed to placing “Caymanians at every touchpoint” – from greeting guests and guiding tours to managing resorts, flying planes and “building the businesses that define and support our tourism product” – because “when visitors experience authentic connections with Caymanians, they truly feel they’ve discovered vaCay.”
That people-first lens also shaped the creative.
Aesthetics of the vaCay campaign
The campaign builds on a simple premise: the vacation, as most people know it, is broken. What was once meant to restore and recharge has become another source of stress – overplanned, overpacked and ultimately exhausting.
Visually, the campaign adopts a fashion-forward, contemporary aesthetic. Its palette – drawn from the sand, sea, sunset and native florals – moves beyond the predictable sun-and-sand imagery that has long defined island marketing.
The centrepiece is a 30-second ad shot in Cayman and narrated by Estevanovich, supported by 15-second cutdowns and social clips.
“It opens with a dystopian recreation of vacation and quickly whisks audiences away to the world of vaCay,” explained Sara Worthington and Armando Flores, executive creative directors at Grey. “Because vaCay is more than just a destination, it’s a lifestyle, every decision made in crafting the campaign was more closely aligned to the world of fashion and lifestyle than travel.”
A refreshed website adds influencer itineraries and new planning tools. Ads will run online, on streaming TV, in print, on digital billboards, across social media and on travel sites, amplified by the #welcometovacay hashtag and in-market events.
Investment of $12 million
Tourism Director Harris said the US$12 million, five-year award stemmed from a three-year plan to consolidate multiple creative agencies, across Canada, the UK and the US, into one global partner for scale and efficiency.
The Department of Tourism realised those contracts would expire in sequence, “and we decided that we would create one agency, instead of having three agencies,” she said. The key point, Harris stressed, was “No new money – just global money that we put in one pool to find one great agency to help us tell our story to the world.”
That restructuring culminated last year in selecting Grey through a process that included private-sector leaders. The goal, Harris said, was to support a platform the industry could rally behind and sell.
The pooled approach will support a unified campaign rolled out in multiple languages, telling “the Cayman story” consistently across markets while being “prudent with government funds”, she added.
The Department of Tourism says it will launch ‘Welcome to vaCay’ in its main source markets through 20 Oct.