Canadians flocking to Cayman Islands drive record-breaking tourism numbers this year

Amid rising airfares, global political unrest and strained relations with America, Canadians continue to seek out sunny destinations, especially in the cold months of winter. And Cayman Islands is the latest destination to report record numbers of visitors from our country.

The self-governing British Overseas Territory, situated between Jamaica and Cuba in the western Caribbean, finished last year with record-breaking numbers of Canadian tourists, with a total of 32,206 stay-over visitors.

Canada became the first country to surpass pre-pandemic numbers of visitors, with growth of 7.1 per cent year over year, and monthly visitation records in March, July, September, November and December.

This came as Canadian visits to the United States declined sharply, falling 22 per cent in the first half of 2025 over the previous year, according to Statistics Canada .

And while our country remains far behind the United States — 82.2 per cent of visitors to Cayman Islands in 2025 came from south of the border — it easily ranked above third-place Britain, with 3.1 per cent or just over 14,000 visitors.

The current year got off to an even stronger start for the island territory, with February seeing 49,075 stay-over visitors, a 10.1 per cent increase year over year and the second-highest February total on record.

Canada drove that month’s growth with 6,102 Canadian visitors, a whopping 47 per cent increase year over year and the islands’ highest number of Canadian visitors for any month ever.

Add in cruise ships and Cayman Islands saw 208,992 visitors that month, two and half times its own population of about 89,000.

Not every Caribbean destination was so well attended. Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Anguilla, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Bonaire and Antigua and Barbuda all recorded declines in Canadian traffic in 2025, attributed to “rising costs, changing vacation habits, and competition from other regions.”

Cayman Islands’ fortunes were largely driven by increased air service. In December, Porter Airlines started offering five flights a week from Toronto and Ottawa to Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman near the capital of George Town.

“Grand Cayman is the fifth sun vacation market that Porter is launching this winter from both Toronto Pearson and Ottawa,” said Andrew Pierce, the airline’s vice president, network planning and reporting, at the time. “Canadians’ travel interest in the Caribbean is steadily growing and now they can easily access the Cayman Islands from two prominent hubs in our network.”

Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat also offer service to Cayman Islands, with the website caymancompass.com reporting that capacity from Canada is up 28 per cent year over year.

Marketing is another factor. Last November, Cayman Islands had a week-long broadcast partnership with media giant Rogers, putting the destination in front of more than a million viewers of morning show Breakfast Television.

Cayman Islands Department of Tourism also announced last month a partnership with Canada’s M5 agency to support media planning and position it the destination as a premium travel option in the Canadian market.

“By partnering with an agency that brings deep insight into Canadian travellers and proven expertise in destination marketing, we are strengthening our ability to attract high-value visitors, support airlift, and drive sustainable growth for the Cayman Islands tourism industry,” Gary Rutty, minister for tourism and trade development, said in a press release.

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