The Cayman Islands has exceeded its projections for 2022 visitation, welcoming 1,027,668 visitors in 2022, including 743,394 cruise passengers, according to a press release.

Rosa Harris, director of Tourism said: “Confidence in the destination due to our measured and phased approach to reopening post the COVID-19 lockdown led to pent up demand which accelerated our visitation volume once all travel restrictions were dropped.

“The quality of our accommodations and attractions, retail offerings and restaurants as well as a vibrant events calendar, including such notable events as the Capella Music Festival, the Cayman Islands marathon and meetings and incentives groups continue to drive visitors to the destination.”

“Cruise tourism is the epicenter of Caymanian entrepreneurship representing a higher percentage of local business owners than any other aspect of tourism and is a vital part of our tourism offering,” added Minister of Tourism and Transport Kenneth Bryan.

“We’d like to thank our Partners in the Port Authority and our transport and water sports operators for their commitment to making the Cayman Islands a preferred destination for cruise passengers. We were pleased with the number of cruise visitors in 2022 and will continue to actively manage the volume of cruise both in terms of the quality of ships in port and the number of passengers who embark on our shores. We look forward to bringing cruise tourism back in a measured and sustainable way in 2023.”

For 2023, the destination has set an overall visitation goal of 70 percent of 2019’s numbers.

“We anticipate that 2023 will be a momentous year for tourism with a full calendar year of visitors to allow us to reset our seasonality aligned with new expectations for travel post-pandemic,” concluded Bryan.