Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (9 May 2018) Air arrivals into the Cayman Islands continued their positive trend in April with 39,057 visitors, or 0.33 percent increase over 2017. This represents the thirteenth consecutive month (June 2017 through April 2018), air arrivals into the Cayman Islands have surpassed the previous year’s corresponding statistics. April also saw an increase of 21.10 percent in cruise arrivals, with 151,716 passengers arriving to our shores.

“While April showed modest growth from last year, I am extremely proud that arrivals to the destination in 2018 are up 15 percent over 2017,” commented Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism, The Honourable Moses Kirkconnell. “But, outstanding performance for the Cayman Islands does not mean that we can sit back or minimize our efforts, so I am committed to supporting our local stakeholders to position the Cayman Islands as the destination of choice. I am optimistic that we will see sustained growth in the months to come.”

Arrivals from the United States were up 2.33 percent and were fuelled by arrivals from the Southwest and Midwest regions, which saw 32.45 percent and 4.78 percent growth respectively. The West coast showed a 5.98 percent increase in arrivals, while the Southeast grew by 2.49 percent. Arrivals from Canada continue to show steady growth with 126 additional visitors, marking a 5.59 percent increase and representing the tenth consecutive month of growth for the region. Arrivals from Latin America also grew by 12.03 percent.

Continued strong performance is expected throughout 2018 bolstered by new Air lift by three airlines who recently announced new routes to Grand Cayman. JetBlue will begin daily nonstop service from Fort Lauderdale starting October 25th. This is in addition to the current JetBlue flights from New York and seasonal service from Boston. Southwest airlines have expanded its service to include direct flights from Houston. The weekly scheduled flights will operate on Saturdays starting June 9th. American Airlines will add seasonal flights from Chicago starting this winter. The weekly Saturday flights will begin on December 22nd and continue through April 2019.

The destination continues to market the Cayman Islands this summer with the “Kids Culinary Capital of the Caribbean” promotion, which features the endless array of culinary experiences available on-island and exceptional offers for families to enjoy.

To learn more about Kids Culinary Capital of the Caribbean offers, please visit www.KidsCulinaryCapital.com

For more information and detailed arrival statistics, please visit the website www.caymanislands.ky/statistics.###