Luxury and family travel key to Cayman tourism growth, new report finds

At a glance:

• The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Caribbean Travel Trends 2026 report analysed Amadeus Travel Intelligence data covering air travel, hospitality and traveller behavior from April 2025 through March 2026
• The report found that Cayman’s key tourism drivers are in the luxury and family travel segments
• Seasonal demand patterns, a need for more direct flights and growth of the Latin American source market were identified as opportunities for growth

A new regional travel report suggests Cayman may be better positioned than most other Caribbean destinations to compete for higher-value and family travellers, but also faces growing risks tied to its reliance on connecting flights and seasonal demand patterns.

The findings come from the newly released Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Caribbean Travel Trends 2026 report, which analysed Amadeus Travel Intelligence data covering air travel, hospitality and traveller behaviour from April 2025 through March 2026.

The report found that overseas travel demand to the Caribbean increased by only 1% between April 2025 and March 2026, marking a significant slowdown from the 21% growth recorded in 2023 and the 8% increase seen in 2024.

Cayman stayover arrivals outperformed the wider region, posting nearly 5% growth during the same period. However, when cruise passenger figures are included in the total, the country’s overall tourism numbers declined by 2.3%.

Despite the broader regional slowdown, Cayman ranked among the Caribbean’s stronger-performing destinations in several categories linked to affluent travellers and family-focused tourism.

Premium travellers driving Cayman growth

One of the report’s most significant findings for Cayman was the destination’s growing appeal among luxury travellers – a key underpinning of Cayman’s tourism strategy.

Cayman ranked among Caribbean destinations with an above-average concentration of premium cabin travellers, placing it on the threshold between the categories of ‘strong presence of luxury travel’ and ‘high volume of luxury travel,’ alongside destinations including Anguilla, Bermuda and Barbados.

The report found that demand for premium travel to Cayman was driven strongly by Canada, where high-end travel demand rose 64% year over year.

The growth in the premium Canadian market coincided with a significant expansion in Canadian airlift to Cayman.

In January, the Compass reported that seat capacity from Canada had increased 28% year over year, fuelled by expanded schedules from Air Canada and WestJet, as well as the entry of Porter Airlines into the market.

Across the wider region, the report identified a broader surge in luxury travel demand from South America, where premium travel to the Caribbean climbed 117% year over year. Peru and Argentina recorded some of the sharpest increases.

Family travel a key strength

The report identified Cayman as one of the Caribbean destinations seeing some of the strongest growth in family-sized travel groups, with year-over-year growth of 9% between 2025 and 2026.

Family groups of three to five travellers accounted for 27.6% of Caribbean arrivals overall, but Cayman was highlighted as particularly well positioned to capture this segment because of its multi-bedroom accommodation stock and family-oriented tourism offerings.

Cayman was ranked alongside Curaçao and the US Virgin Islands as destinations benefiting from strong family travel demand.

Reliance on connecting flights remains a vulnerability

Despite Cayman’s strong performance across several demand categories, the report highlighted air connectivity as a structural challenge.

Across the Caribbean, 83.7% of travellers arrive on direct flights. However, the Cayman Islands was identified as one of the destinations most dependent on connecting traffic, with 32% of arrivals travelling via connecting flights rather than nonstop routes.

Only Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana recorded a higher reliance on connecting passengers.

That dynamic may begin to shift as Cayman’s Department of Tourism continues to prioritise airlift expansion. The strategy helped secure an estimated 358,512 inbound airline seats for the winter season and contributed to Cayman’s strongest ever first quarter in 2026.

A more seasonal market than regional leaders

The report found that Cayman continues to face more pronounced seasonality pressures than some competing Caribbean destinations.

Using Amadeus’ Seasonality Index, which measures fluctuations in overnight stays throughout the year, Cayman ranked seventh out of 20 countries with a score of 105. By comparison, Barbados recorded the highest seasonality score at 228, while Curaçao recorded the lowest at 21.

A lower score indicates more stable overnight demand throughout the year, while a higher score reflects greater weekly fluctuations in visitor stays.

That placed Cayman as more seasonal than destinations including Aruba, Guyana and Saint Lucia, all of which demonstrated more consistent year-round demand patterns.

Curaçao was highlighted as a regional example of how diversified source markets and stronger South American connectivity can help manage seasonality.

The report suggested that destinations capable of attracting more visitors during traditional low-season periods, particularly from South America, would be better positioned to stabilise hotel revenues and reduce dependence on winter tourism peaks.

The strategic importance of Latin America

Throughout the report, analysts repeatedly emphasised the growing strategic importance of Latin American travellers, particularly for destinations seeking to smooth seasonal demand and attract higher-spending visitors.

The report noted that Panama is becoming increasingly important as a hub for South American travellers. This opens an opportunity for Cayman which benefits from twice-weekly direct Cayman Airways flights to and from Tocumen International Airport.

With just 4% of Cayman’s stayover traffic in 2025 and 2026 originating from Latin America and with the overwhelming majority of Cayman’s stayover visitors – more than 80% – originating from the United States, there is significant room for growth in this market.