The Cayman Islands remains on pace for a record year in tourist air arrivals after February saw the second highest number of stayover visitors ever.
For the month, Cayman saw the arrival of 49,075 stayover visitors, a 10.1% increase from 2025 and second only to the 50,707 that arrived in February 2020 – which, as a leap year, had the advantage of an extra day. Because of that extra day, this February saw a slightly higher average number of visitors per day than in February 2020.
The first two months of this year have surpassed by 11.5% the same period of 2019, when the Cayman Islands set a record with 502,739 stayover visitors.
Several factors have contributed to the recent uptick in air arrivals, which also set a record in December 2025.
Minister for Tourism Gary Rutty cited some of those factors in a press release issued by the Department of Tourism on 27 March.
“Delivering one of the strongest February performances in our history, following a record-breaking January, demonstrates the continued success of our strategic focus on airlift expansion, targeted marketing and strong industry partnerships,” Rutty said. “The Cayman Islands continues to perform at a high level across multiple markets, reinforcing our position as a leading premium destination in the Caribbean.”
The airlift factor has been particularly evident in relation to Canada, which has saw a 47% year-on-year increase in air arrivals in February and is up 44% so far this year. Airlift from Canada increased in December when Porter Airlines launched direct service from both Toronto and Ottawa. It was the first time any airline has offered direct service from Ottawa, Canada’s capital.
Although the United States remains by far Cayman’s largest market, providing 79.6% of all stayover visitors, Canada has solidified its standing as the second largest market, providing 11.7% of Cayman’s air arrivals, more than the rest of the world combined excluding the US.
Cruise passenger arrivals rebound
After cruise passenger arrivals dipped to one of the lowest on record for the month in January – largely due to inclement weather cancelling 10 ship calls – the numbers rebounded to 159,917 in February, a 6.5% increase compared to 2025 and the most for the month since 2020.
Total visitation for the month – including both stayover visitors and cruise passengers – reached 208,992 visitors, reflecting a 7.3% increase over the same period in 2025.
The Department of Tourism is optimistic that Cayman’s tourism arrivals will remain solid through the first quarter of 20256.
“With continued airlift expansion and strong demand across key markets, the Cayman Islands is well-positioned to sustain its growth trajectory throughout the first quarter of 2026,” the department stated in its press release.
However, with the rise in oil prices as a result of the US war with Iran already increasing the cost of long-haul flights and, depending on the length of the war, potentially impacting the US economy and the cost of shorter flights, it remains to be seen if Cayman can maintain the record pace of tourism arrivals beyond the first quarter.
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