January cruise visitors down almost 10,000 on last year

Tourism leaders have pointed to January’s rough weather as the main reason behind a significant decline in Cayman’s cruise visitor numbers for January, in comparison to the previous year.

According to the latest statistics from the Department of Tourism, which were released Tuesday, cruise arrivals dropped by 6% in January 2024, compared to the same period last year, with 9,736 fewer visitors.

A total of 149,392 cruise visitors were recorded this January, down from the 159,128 last year.

Cayman Islands Tourism Association president Troy Leacock said the weather was a key factor that exacerbated an already declining number of calls to Grand Cayman.

“Cayman experienced many days of strong wind and rough seas since December and the January decline of 9,736 cruise visitors can be largely attributed to the six scheduled ships which did not stop,” he said.

The situation, he said, worsened last month, but those numbers have not yet been released. Leacock noted that “the rough weather continued through February, resulting in fifteen scheduled ships bypassing Cayman.”

The continuing drop in cruise numbers is something Leacock says needs attention.

This decline “drives home the challenges faced by operators and service providers to the cruise visitor segment,” Leacock said.

In 2023, there were 1.27 million cruise visitors, a far cry from the 1.83 million recorded in 2019.

Piers debate lingers

The cruise numbers are unlikely to improve vastly this year, with two major lines – Carnival and Royal Caribbean – noting in 2022 they would be reducing their calls to Cayman due to the “lack of a walk-on, walk-off facility”.

Tourism and Ports Minster Kenneth Bryan, in December, called for a referendum at the next election on building a cruise pier.

Bryan, speaking in Parliament, said it was time to address the ‘elephant in the room’ – that a decrease in cruise ship arrivals in coming years is inevitable if a pier is not built, as major cruise lines are refusing to use tender boats to transport their passengers from ship to shore.

Since Bryan’s comments, there has been no word on whether that referendum will be held.

Cayman, in 2019, was near to a vote on the issue after a petition triggered a people-initiated referendum.

However, with the onset of the COVID pandemic, the Progressives-led government at the time indicated it did not intend to move ahead with its plans to build a cruise pier in George Town Harbour, negating the need for a referendum.

Air arrivals stoke optimism for ‘continued growth’

Cayman’s air arrivals have begun the new year on a more positive note, with January registering a 4% increase over the same period last year.

According to the latest statistics, 38,446 visitors touched down in the Cayman Islands in January, an increase of 1,501 over the same month last year.

The gain was welcomed by Leacock, who said the increase in air arrivals over January 2023 reflects “a continuation of our steady recovery back to pre-COVID levels”.

“With more airline seat and bed capacity, including the Indigo Hotel, coming onstream this year, we are optimistic for continued growth in the stayover visitor segment,” he said.

Department of Tourism Director Rosa Harris, in an emailed comment to the Compass on the latest numbers, said they show a majority of visitors coming from the northeast United States.

“The Northeast region is consistently a top performing region of the USA in the winter months. CIDOT is encouraged that tourism continues to recover, adding incremental value for our tourism partners in accommodations, restaurants, tours and activities,” she said.

To stay ahead, she said the DoT team is already working on its summer promotion, ‘Experience More in Cayman’.

“We encourage our partners to get in touch with the Department of Tourism to be able to highlight their business through the planned marketing and promotions for the upcoming Summer period,” she said.