Cayman Islands Sees Increase in Foreign Arrivals

The Cayman Islands welcomed over 1.3 million visitors between January and June 2018, which represents an increase of 19.52 percent or 214,711 visitors when compared to the same period in 2017.

While air arrivals were up 15.9 percent for the first half of the year, demonstrating an increase of 34,693 visitors, cruise passenger arrivals accounted for 81 percent of the Islands’ total visitation.

This six-month performance comes on the heels of June’s record-breaking achievement as the best June on record for stayover visitation and marks the 15th consecutive month of growth in arrivals.

Arrivals from the United States in June were up 13.89 percent and were driven by growth in the Midwest and Southwest regions, which saw 23.67 and 21.56 percent growth respectively.

The Northeast saw an increase of 6.59 percent, while the Southeast and West Coast saw an increase of 9.82 percent and 1.61 percent respectively. Canada saw its 12th consecutive month of growth with an increase of 20.36 percent.

Additionally, to continued growth in 2018, the Cayman Islands and several local partners have been highly-awarded during the first half of the year with many accolades such as mentions in TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards, USA Today and Caribbean Journal.

Over the past six months, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has executed a multi-faceted marketing plan to increase brand awareness and flatten seasonality while also fostering opportunities for small businesses to play a part in the tourism product.

In January, DOT launched its Summer Only in Cayman promotion, which this year leveraged Cayman’s position as the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean with our Kid’s Culinary Capital of the Caribbean promotion.

The promotion invited families to savor the endless array of cuisines available on-island by an impressive roster of local chefs and included curated epicurean experiences for even the youngest of authentic culinary seekers.

Source: Loop News (Trinidad & Tobago)