📈 Cayman Islands tourism rebounds close to pre-pandemic levels

The Cayman Islands saw a significant recovery in tourism in November 2023, with overnight guest arrivals reaching 93% of the numbers for the same month in 2019, before the pandemic-induced border closure. According to the Department of Tourism (DoT), the total number of stayover visitors for the month was 35,765, exceeding the 2023 target of 70% of the 500,000 guests recorded in 2019. Despite the borders remaining closed longer than in other Caribbean destinations, the Cayman Islands is on track to surpass 400,000 stayover visitors for the first time since 2019. 🌴

US visitors accounted for a significant portion of the recovery, making up 83% of total arrivals in the first eleven months of 2023. In November 2023, US visitation reached 95% of 2019's numbers, the highest recovery rate compared to pre-pandemic levels. The Northeastern region of the US saw an increase of 3.3% compared to November 2019 and 10.2% from November 2022. Visitors from Canada, the second largest source of stayover visitors, represented 6.4% of the overall figures from January through November, up from 5.9% in 2019. Stayover visitors from the UK, Ireland, and Latin America were on par with 2019 levels. 🇺🇸🇨🇦

Meanwhile, over one million cruise ship visitors docked in George Town for the first time since 2019. Although this is less than 70% of 2019's figures, the decrease is not viewed negatively by all, due to the potential detrimental impact of cruise passenger oversaturation on key attractions and the destination as a whole. 🚢