The Cayman Islands welcomed Jody and Dana Reeser, the first set of prize-winners from the Gala Parilla event held in Tampa, Florida during that city’s annual pirating event Gasparilla which takes place in January of each year.

Gala Parilla, a special events and marketing promotion hosted by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), Cayman Airways and the Pirates Week committee, was well attended by the over 700 persons from 60 pirating krewes from the Tampa Bay area and helped to raise awareness of the Cayman Islands Pirates Week Festival.

The Pirates Week Festival Spokesman, Bernie Bush, noted, “The Cayman Islands has a unique connection with the over 8,000 members of the pirate krewes from Tampa and we were so pleased to be given the chance to strengthen our bonds with them at the Gala Parilla event. Opportunities such as this enabled us to not only promote the Cayman Islands but also to further strengthen the ties between the Tampa Pirate Krewes and our national Pirates Week Festival committee. We are certainly eager to welcome each and every one of the winners to our islands.”

Accommodations for the Gala Parilla prize packages were donated by individual CITA providers such as Grandview Condominiums who welcomed the Reesers in August. The couple enjoyed their recent vacation in the Cayman Islands, stating: “We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed Grand View Condominiums and its amenities!” Other participating CITA providers include Comfort Suites, Cobalt Coast Dive Resort, Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, The Renaissance, Treasure Island Resort and the Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa.

“Gala Parilla provided the Cayman Islands a wonderful opportunity to utilise our Pirates Week Festival from a tourism perspective as we were able to reach individuals within the Tampa Krewes, particularly those that travel to attend pirate festivals as a relevant part of their lifestyles. The members are also part of our target demographic and will not only travel in waves to see the festival but will also participate, allowing even further enhancement to the festivities,” said the Director of Tourism, Shomari Scott.

As a result of this promotion in Tampa, a four-night Pirates Week package was created with Stephanie Phillips of Ships-n-Trips by working with various on-island partners and subsequently promoted to the various Pirate Krewes. The response was overwhelmingly positive and has led to a charter flight with 90 people travelling from Tampa to the Cayman Islands on Cayman Airways from 7-11 November for Pirates Week.