The Cayman Islands welcomed 27,445 stayover visitors in August 2026, an increase of 9.2% when compared with August 2025.
August arrivals continued the destination’s positive visitation trend, marking the tenth consecutive month of stayover growth. Stayover arrivals between January and August reached 361,192 for an increase of 11% when compared to the same period in 2025. Stayover visitation in August was driven by growth from the United States and Canada.
The destination welcomed 50,960 cruise visitors in August, an increase of 3.7% when compared with August 2025.
Combined visitation from stayover visitors and cruise passengers between January and August 2026 reached 1,137,186, an increase of 6.1% year over year, reflecting continued demand for the destination amongst both stayover and cruise visitors.
United States Leads August Growth
Visitors from the United States led August growth with 21,967 visitors, up 10% when compared with August 2025. This growth was driven by an increase in travellers from Washington DC, Austin and Miami-Fort Lauderdale and underpinned by the Department’s advertising strategy focused on reaching high-net-worth travellers throughout the United States.
Canada Continues Strong Growth
Visitor arrivals from Canada in August were up 18.2% over the same period in 2025. Canadian visitation year-to-date grew by 41.4% year-over-year and was responsible for approximately 25% of the destination’s growth so far in 2026 – supported by CIDOT’s continued focus on market diversification and sustained PR, media and partnership investment in this key growth market.
Latin America Posts Double-Digit August Growth
Arrivals from Latin America were up 24.2% over August 2025, led by arrivals from Central America and Mexico. January – August arrivals from Latin America were up by 7.4% over the same period in 2025.
UK and European Market Shows Steady Increases
Visitation from the UK & Ireland continued to pace above 2025 with January - August arrivals up 6.4% over the same period in 2025.
Visitation from Continental Europe was up 7.6% over August 2025, with January – August arrivals increasing by 21.6% over the same period in 2025.
Accommodations Sector Sees Increased Room Revenue
According to global hotel intelligence firm STR Inc., hotel occupancy reached 47.4% in August 2026, an increase of 3 percentage points compared with August 2025. The Average Daily Rate (ADR) rose 4.7% and the Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) increased 11.8%.
Year-to-date through August, occupancy rose by 6.2 percentage points compared to the previous year while ADR increased by 6.0% and RevPAR rose by 16.4% year-over-year.
Hotel room revenue between January and August increased by 18.5% when compared to the same period in 2025. August marked ten consecutive months of room revenue increases. This sustained growth in visitation and revenue supports stronger earnings for businesses across Cayman that benefit from the visitor economy.
“Ten consecutive months of increased stayover arrivals is an encouraging indication of the sustained strength of our tourism industry,” said the Hon. Gary Rutty, Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Trade Development. “More importantly, this growth is continuing to create economic opportunities for business owners, while sustaining the livelihoods of those who depend on a thriving tourism sector. In addition, the increases in occupancy and room revenue provide further evidence that the benefits of growth are being felt across the industry, delivering meaningful benefits for Caymanians and giving entrepreneurs the confidence to continue investing in the Cayman Islands.”
United States Leads Seat Capacity Growth
August’s stayover visitation gains were supported by total inbound airline seat capacity of 53,063 seats, with growth driven by the United States (2,955 seats an increase of 5.9%) and Canada (481 seats; an increase of 16.8%), reflecting continued airline confidence in the destination.
“Ten consecutive months of stayover growth does not happen by chance,” said Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism. “It reflects the focused, year-round work of our teams in Cayman and across our overseas offices: protecting and growing airlift, reaching high-value travellers through targeted, data-driven marketing, and building strong relationships with our airline, trade and media partners. The performance of Canada, Latin America and the UK and Europe shows that our market diversification strategy is delivering, while the United States continues to provide the scale that underpins our growth.”
“As we head into the final months of 2026 and prepare for the winter season, our priorities are clear: sustain and grow airlift, deepen our partnerships in key international markets and continue to diversify our source markets. We are grateful to our industry partners who deliver the Caymankind experience every day, and we will continue to execute with the same discipline and ambition that has brought us to this point.”
To learn more about how tourism drives economic growth across the Cayman Islands, the public is encouraged to follow the Chamber of Commerce’s Tourism Matters series.