Mixed results in May tourist arrivals

Mixed results in May tourist arrivals show Cayman’s stayover and cruise trends moving in opposite directions. On the positive side, stayover tourism kept a record pace in 2026, with 40,015 tourists arriving by air in May—up 16.5% versus 2025. It marked only the second time Cayman recorded more than 40,000 air arrivals in May, and the arrivals were still below the May 2019 figure of 40,591. For the year through May, air arrivals totaled 248,234, 6.8% above the 232,474 recorded in the same period of 2019. The U.S. remained the largest source market, accounting for 83% of May air arrivals, while Canada rose 49.8% year-on-year to 2,754 arrivals. Cruise passenger arrivals fell to 36,898, the lowest ever for the month and down 30.5% from May 2025.