• by Danielle Oster , October 7, 2025

Cayman Islands Department of Tourism debuted a  campaign introducing a new brand platform promising the antidote to the downfalls of typical vacations.

The global “Welcome to vaCay” brand campaign launched in the Cayman Islands Oct. 6 and expanded internationally Oct. 7. “Welcome to VaCay” plays on the destination’s name, while promoting travel to the Cayman Islands as the solution to typical travel problems. 

The campaign centers around a 30-second hero ad introducing a refreshed visual brand identity featuring a color scheme inspired by the Cayman Islands, an aesthetic described in a press release as “intentionally fashion-inspired and modern.” The ad, created in partnership with agency Grey New York, and directing duo Mathery, shows some of the worst aspects of a typical vacation.

Vacation is “overcrowded” says a voiceover against a backdrop of too many beach umbrellas stacked on top of each other. The VO then declares that “vacation is over” before the Cayman Islands are presented as the solution to such drawbacks with the “Welcome to vaCay” line (Vacay doesn’t eat, it savors.”)

“The idea behind the video was to highlight the best of the Cayman Islands while introducing the world to the vaCay lifestyle," Grey Executive Creative Directors Sara Worthington and Armando Flores said in a statement

“Based on the strategy that vacation as we know it is broken, the main idea of the spot was simple: vaCay is the vacation vacation wishes it took,” they added. “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.”

Cayman Islands Department of Tourism also stressed the authenticity of “Welcome to vaCay,” claiming “85% of the cast and crew were Caymanian, ensuring the campaign reflects the people, culture and natural beauty of the islands.”

Paid media will primarily run across Meta platforms, as well as streaming video on Hulu and YouTube. Supporting campaign elements include a series of 15-second cuts of the ad, short-form edits for social media, digital advertising running on travel sites such as Hopper and VRBO, and OOH activations appearing on kiosks throughout New York City’s Upper East Side.

“Too often, vacations leave people more exhausted than when they arrived,” Rosa Harris, director of tourism for the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism,” said in a statement. “Travelers want something different and [this campaign] is our way of inviting the world to experience our three-island destination, where vacation is as it should and was always meant to be: stress-free, rejuvenating, and effortlessly luxurious.”

In support of that contention, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism cited recent data from a survey it fielded in September, which found 49% of American travelers returned from vacation more exhausted than relaxed. Sixty percent said they sacrificed rest by trying to “do it all,” and 40% said the biggest lie about vacation is that it’s “stress-free.”

The launch campaign is only the first phase of a broader effort, running through the end of the year. “Welcome to vaCay” will continue in 2026 with the next phase of the brand refresh campaign.