In many ways, the Cayman Islands is a Caribbean cousin of Bermuda.

It has a similar infrastructure and tourism industry, and is facing many of the same problems.

Cayman is traditional, well developed and expensive. It has a low crime rate and portrays itself as an up-market destination.

It has also seen a drop, like Bermuda, in US visitors, but is experiencing an increase in tourists from Europe and a boom in cruise passengers.

Last year, Cayman had about 395,000 air visitors and just over one million cruise visitors.

Vicki Saker, administration manager of Cayman tourism in London, said those visitors came to the island for relaxation in an unspoilt location, and, like Bermuda, away from the commercialisation of many Caribbean islands.

"Cayman is an UK dependent overseas territory and that is an attraction for the UK market because a lot of people are concerned that destinations may be over Americanised with burger bars on every corner,'' she said.

"The Caymans have a very strong culture but they are very patriotic...and I think that certainly appeals to UK visitors and the US market.'' Last year, most of the stay-over visitors came from the US, but those figures were down about five percent to 280,000. Just more than 34,000 came from Europe, also down slightly, but still good considering flights involve a refuelling stop in the Bahamas.

Ms Saker said it was the sun, sea and sand that made the holiday. And, like Bermuda, the lack of diversions can prove negative to some tourists demanding more for their dollar than a stretch in the sun.

"If you don't have money there is not a lot of things to do. For the younger crowd looking for night life, it is not here. It is laid back -- diving, relaxing and laying back doing nothing but soak up the rays,'' said one tourism insider.

It is the sort of argument that, like Bermuda, fuels the casino debate every year. But it does not look like Cayman will be opening its doors to full scale gambling either.

"Any effort to bring in casinos, the religious leaders would go ballistic.

They don't want Las Vegas type shows,'' the source said.

But Bermuda could find itself with more competition in its main US east coast markets as the Caymans gear up for the re-introduction of a direct flight from New York.

Having seen a massive rise in cruise passengers, Cayman now has over one million passengers visiting a year.

The industry source said: "The cruise lines go after the same kind of traveller who would consider a stay-over vacation.

"But they don't spend the money. Why would they come ashore to spend money in local restaurants when food is free on the ship?'' And it is hard to argue, when you discover that cruise passengers spend an average of $40 per trip compared to $1,200 per stay-over guest.

But it is something the Cayman government is keen to tackle by arranging excursions to spread the numbers across the island.

"We try to encourage tours so, when they are here, they see as much as they possibly can,'' said Ms Saker.