CAYMAN ISLANDS. Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) has launched a Request for Proposals for seven commercial spaces covering more than 8,000sq ft at Owen Roberts International Airport.
The airport serves Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands which lie in the Caribbean Sea. The opportunities include five food & beverage outlets (combined 5,800sq ft) and two retail spaces (2,342sq ft). Six of them are airside, the other landside.
Sizes vary by location but the units range from a spacious restaurant in a soon to be opened second floor departures concourse, with commanding views over the North Sound and the airfield, to a 100sq ft location suitable for a grab and go operation.
Lease durations for the F&B and retail opportunities will be for ten and seven years, respectively.
The concessions will be located in Owen Roberts Airport’s US$74 million terminal building which opened five years ago, increasing the airport’s space by 2.7 times. The travel hub served 1.2 million passengers in 2023 (91% of pre-pandemic 2019 numbers).
The US is comfortably the dominant visitor source market for Owen Roberts Airport, accounting for 67% of all arrivals in 2023.
Speaking exclusively to The Moodie Davitt Report about the commercial tenders, Cayman Islands Airports Authority Business Development Manager Lennon Chandler said: “For the food service opportunities, we are currently seeking operators who can introduce engaging and attractive concepts that span anywhere from a dedicated airside bar to restaurants that prioritise Caymanian and pan-Caribbean cuisines, as well as international fare.
“In terms of retail, we have an available opportunity for a travel essentials and convenience operation and a specialty retail location. The latter would preferably be duty-paid, with a strong, captivating and unique retail concept that would enhance the passenger experience and range of products available at Owen Roberts Airport.”
Asked about the type of operators the CIAA is seeking, Chandler said: “Capable, creative, competent and innovative are a few of the words we would use to describe the ideal operators we are hoping to attract with this current RFP.
“Enhancing passenger experience is one of our key priorities at the CIAA, and therefore we are desirous of introducing concepts that truly amaze and please our travellers, bearing in mind the Grand Cayman passenger is sophisticated and well-heeled.”
How would Chandler ‘sell’ the airport to operators which might usually target airports with much larger levels of traffic? Answering, he pointed to the fact that the airport’s terminal was only completed in 2019, therefore it is a modern, up-to-date and easy to navigate facility.
Owen Roberts Airport is well connected to many major cities in North America and Western Europe, as well as key regional destinations within the Caribbean and Central America, he added. “We are also the hub for the Caymanian national carrier, Cayman Airways, which operates an impressive network across the Americas,” Chandler noted.
What about the Cayman Islands tourism offer and the type of visitors it attracts? “We are the gateway to the Cayman Islands. In the context of tourism, the Cayman Islands are considered some of the most sophisticated and highly sought after destinations in the Caribbean, with a wide range of world-class accommodation, fantastic scenery inclusive of magical and unparalleled diving. We have a culinary scene that is second to none in the region,” he responded.
“As a result, the calibre of visitors we attract, and therefore, we cater to directly here at Owen Roberts Airport is quite high and represents a favourable market for any concessionaire seeking to do business with us.”
Owen Roberts Airport is one of two airports under the management of Cayman Islands Airports Authority. The second is Charles Kirkconnell International Airport on Grand Cayman’s sister island, Cayman Brac.
The deadline for proposals is 16:00pm EST 19 June 2024. You can reach out to concessions@caymanairports.com for further information. ✈
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