Big uptick in stayover visitor arrivals

Cayman saw a substantial increase in visitor arrivals in 2023, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Tourism.

Between January and November 2023, Cayman received 379,370 stayover visitors exceeding 2022’s year-to-date numbers by 61% and representing approximately 85% of 2019’s numbers.

The destination saw a sustained increase in visitation throughout 2023 with particularly high numbers in November which saw 35,765 visitors arriving by air, representing 93% of November 2019’s numbers – the highest recovery rate so far compared to pre-pandemic visitation.

November 2023 saw the third largest number of visitors to arrive in that month since the department began recording statistics only surpassed by 2019’s 38,463 and 2018’s 38,172. The US was the Cayman Islands’ primary source market for stayover visitors to the destination, contributing 83% of total arrivals for 2023 up until the end of November. In particular, the US achieved a substantial recovery in November 2023, with an impressive 95% of 2019’s visitation – the highest recovery rate for the market recorded to-date compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The Northeastern region was a particular standout, up 3.3% when compared to November 2019, and a 10.2% surge over arrivals from this area in November 2022.

Canadian air arrivals in November were 88.6% of 2019’s numbers and Canada remained the second largest source of stayover visitors for Cayman, representing 6.4% of the overall visitation YTD up from 5.9% in 2019 indicating a sustained recovery for this market.

Stayover visitors from the UK and Ireland accounted for 3.5% of the total arrivals in November 2023 on par with 2019. Between January and November air arrivals from the UK and Ireland represented 89.6% of 2019’s record and YTD arrivals from this region accounted for 3.3% of the total arrivals, 0.2 percentage points above 2019.

Air arrivals from Latin America in November 2023 represented 70.8% of 2019’s numbers and arrivals YTD represented 1.3% of the overall visitation on par with 2019.

Though cruise passenger arrivals represented less than 70% of 2019’s, the Cayman Islands has surpassed 1 million cruise ship visitors for the first time since 2019, the DOT said.

Director of Tourism, Rosa Harris commented on Cayman’s standout 11-month performance:

“The Cayman Islands exceeded its visitation goal of 70% for the first 11 months of the year and is now on track to surpass 400,000 stayover visitors for the first time since 2019. We are especially pleased with our United States visitation, as these statistics underscore the healthy rebound and resilience of the United States as our main source market and further affirms the Cayman Islands’ position as a preferred destination for American visitors,” she said.