Editing Cayman Islands (section)

=== 20th century ===
In the 1950s, tourism began to flourish, following the opening of [[Owen Roberts International Airport]] (ORIA),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.caymanairports.com/ |title=Airport Authority of Cayman Islands – CIAA |website=Caymanairports.com |access-date=13 May 2021 |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513094028/https://www.caymanairports.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref> along with a bank and several hotels, as well as the introduction of a number of scheduled flights and cruise stop-overs.<ref name="keytocayman.com"/><ref name="History of the Cayman Islands"/> Politically, the Cayman Islands were an internally self-governing territory of Jamaica from 1958 to 1962, but they reverted to direct British rule following the [[independence of Jamaica]] in 1962.<ref name="britannica.com"/> In 1972, a large degree of internal autonomy was granted by a new constitution, with further revisions being made in 1994.<ref name="britannica.com"/> The Cayman Islands government focused on boosting the territory's economy via tourism and the attraction of off-shore finance, both of which mushroomed from the 1970s onwards.<ref name="History of the Cayman Islands"/><ref name="britannica.com"/> Historically, the Cayman Islands has been a tax-exempt destination, and the government has always relied on indirect and not direct taxes. The territory has never levied [[income tax]], [[capital gains tax]], or any [[wealth tax]], making it a popular [[tax haven]].<ref name=biswas>{{cite book |last=Biswas |first=Rajiv |date=2002 |title=International Tax Competition: A Developing Country Perspective |publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat |page=38 |isbn=0-85092-688-2}}.</ref>

In April 1986, the first [[marine protected area]]s were designated in the Cayman Islands, making them the first islands in the Caribbean to protect their fragile marine life.