New hotel developments take Cayman to record room numbers

Tourism in the Cayman Islands is on the rise again, and tourism officials hope an increase in hotel room inventory will complement that.

On the heels of the grand opening of Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman, the Department of Tourism announced the islands have surpassed 8,000 available rooms, and another 600 should be coming in the next few years.

The department put the current room stock at 8,022 total.

Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said at the Hotel Indigo ribbon cutting on Thursday that while the government is “not in the business of building hotels,” the new developments play an important part in the Cayman Islands’ tourism industry.

“We understand that creating the right kind of environment for tourism growth works as a powerful stimulus for sustainable development,” he said.

In a Friday press release, the DoT said the Cayman Islands is slated to add more than 600 additional hotel rooms within the next few years based on projects that have been committed to or are in the works.

Those developments include One | GT, Grand Hyatt and Kailani, a Curio Collection by Hilton.

“The destination also anticipates a steady increase of Airbnb properties across all three islands with 646 properties available as Airbnb listings,” the release said.

Rise in stays

Recent tourism statistics indicate demand for increased hotel room inventory. Last month, the Department of Tourism announced stayover numbers were approaching the pre-pandemic high recorded in early 2019.

More than 137,000 stayover visitors travelled to the Cayman Islands between January and March this year, according to DoT statistics. That number is just below the record of 145,804 for the same period in 2019, and a 13.4% uptick compared to 2023.

Bryan said on Thursday that improvements to air travel, particularly redevelopment at the Owen Roberts International Airport, should provide a boost to the Cayman Islands’ competitiveness in the global tourism market in coming years.