For the third consecutive year the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) exhibited at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) tradeshow in Geneva, Switzerland, promoting the Cayman Islands Aircraft Registry.
The EBACE tradeshow in its eighth consecutive year surpassed all other years with record attendance of approximately 13,692 industry attendees, representing a 21.5 percent increase over last year’s attendees of 11,267.
EBACE 2008 also boasted an increase in the number of exhibition booths totalling 440 this year, as well as 60 state-of-the art business aircraft and three aircraft mock-ups. The theme at this year’s show recognised the value of business aviation to global businesses and economies.
This year the CAACI teamed up with various other local entities to have a very strong Cayman Islands presence at EBACE. Joining the CAACI were the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau, the Cayman Islands Government Office UK, and local firms Maples & Calder and Paget-Brown Trust Company, and representation materials provided by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, UK/Europe office.
Director of Commercial Affairs Regulation and Administration at the CAACI Nicoela McCoy complimented Cayman Islands’ representation at the tradeshow.
“The joint effort of the public and private sector partners at EBACE resulted in a very strong representation for the Cayman Islands,” she said.
“The Cayman Islands booth was highly sought out amongst attending members of the aviation trade industry and we distributed information pertaining to the aircraft registry, legal and financial options, company registration and general tourism and destination information.”
The local Aircraft Registry said it is an increasingly attractive registry of choice for foreign individuals and corporations. With approximately 145 aircraft registered (such as Gulfstream, Boeing Business Jet, Airbus Corporate Jet, Embraer, Dassault Falcon, Cessna Citation, Bombardier Global Express, etc) aircraft owners and brokers have voiced their pleasure at the process of registering an aircraft
on Cayman Islands Aircraft Registry.
Director-General of the CAACI Richard Smith said the market is an important one to his organisation.
“EBACE is a very appropriate forum for the CAACI to reach its intended target market. With approximately 70 percent of the aircraft on the Cayman Islands Aircraft Registry based in Europe, this is a growing and emerging marketplace for us,” he said.
“Our collaborative efforts with other Cayman Islands entities demonstrate the positive integrated nature of the asset management options that the territory offers to potential clients.”
Each year the CAACI partners with the local business community to offer a prize package for raffle at EBACE and this year thanks to the contributions of Cayman Airways, Tortuga, The Ritz-Carlton Grand
Cayman, Boatswain’s Beach and Cayman Islands Helicopters, one lucky business associate was awarded a holiday package.