Empty hotel beds, half-filled tours to the Stingray sandbar and shuttered bars and restaurants around the island are among the signs that slow season started early and has lasted longer in Cayman this year.
Cruise and air arrivals were down compared with last year in May and June. And despite a 6.7% year-on-year increase in air arrivals in July, business leaders across the sector say traffic has been unusually slow and spending light – even for what is typically a less popular time for Cayman vacations.
Reduced airlift, challenges with a sargassum influx and continued beach erosion on southern Seven Mile Beach have been cited as contributory factors. And with many residents also taking extended vacations over the summer, a number of businesses have taken the down time to shut up shop and repaint and renovate ahead of what they hope will be busier times to come.
The silver lining to the gloom is the significantly increased airlift in the later part of the year and advance bookings pointing to a strong high season.
A Department of Tourism spokeswoman highlighted the impact of inflation and uncertainty in Cayman’s key source markets in the US as contributory factors for the recent dip. But she insisted the department was happy with an overall increase of just over 3% in year to date arrival figures.
“We view this as sustainable, quality growth that aligns with our strategic focus on high-value visitors,” she said.
Marc Langevin, general manager at the Ritz Carlton hotel, said the loss of the Jet Blue flight from New York, in the summer, had impacted the hotel’s business.
“That is a big difference in seat capacity and impacted our occupancy for hotel, especially over the 4th of July week which is usually sold out,” he said.
He said the return of the American Airways late flight from Miami in October would mean increased connectivity into Cayman from a number of destinations.
Sharlene Brenkus, president of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, said demand was ‘softer than normal’ in June and July making for a more challenging business environment ahead of the traditional low season. Sargassum has been a particular problem in the eastern districts, where she is manager of the Wyndham Reef Resort.
Although 2025 has been a particularly bad year for sargassum throughout the region as it migrates east to west across the Caribbean Sea, it hasn’t impacted the west-facing Seven Mile Beach.
Hope on the horizon
For now, the focus is on working with the Department of Tourism on marketing and summer promotions to drum up additional visitation.
But there are brighter days ahead, says Brenkus, with a string of new flights planned from destinations including Detroit, New York, Toronto, Fort Lauderdale and the ‘desperately needed’ late night flight from Miami.
“Optimistically, the hard push and work to increase airlift is really materialising starting in October,” she said.
Hermes Cuello, general manager at the Marriott hotel, highlighted a similar pattern.
“We definitely have seen a decrease in business, not only in Cayman, but in the Caribbean as well. The low season started earlier, and all the properties have been seeing a decrease in occupancy.”
Despite that he is hopeful that visitation to Cayman can soon return to pre-pandemic levels.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel, and we have a lot of hopes that the next season is going to be a good one.”
Missing Disney ships a key concern
Troy Leacock, owner of Crazy Crab charters and the past president of CITA, is a little more concerned.
The drop off in cruise numbers – particularly the loss of lucrative Disney ships with a higher per passenger spend – has impacted water sports operators. And the slower than expected growth in air arrivals over the year has made a bad situation worse.
After a strong first quarter, cruise slumped from April onwards.
Leacock, who is water sports director for CITA, said mid-size ships like those in the Disney fleet should not have been as badly impacted by the absence of a pier. Those ships are considered more suitable for tendering and Disney tends to carry a greater portion of families who book on island tours.
Leacock said, “As time goes one it becomes more and more apparent that cruise tourism will continue to suffer.”
In 2019 there were 1.83m cruise visitors. Last year there were 1.07million. The figures for 2025 so far are marginally down on that, suggesting Cayman is headed for a similar year-end figure.
Leacock said the mix of ships was now more lower spending passengers.
A Department of Tourism spokesperson acknowledged Disney had reduced calls in Cayman by 37% in the first five months of the year, but insisted this was not necessarily permanent.
“Disney, along with other premium cruise lines, continues to build smaller ships specifically designed to visit unique boutique destinations like the Cayman Islands.”
She said ‘active dialogue continued with all major cruise lines’.
Leacock said the challenge for small business operators – charter boats, tour companies and bus drivers – was that the downturn had been compounded by the blip in air arrivals.
“Slow season started early this year,” he said.
Ron Hargrave, who owns several restaurants including Tukka East and West, is also worried that the longer slow season is more of a permanent change in pattern rather than a one-off.
He said he was rethinking the restaurant business model in terms of staffing levels and menu items to cope with a slump in activity that now seems to run from May to October. He said he was also noticing a decline in spending – even when tourism numbers were good.
“Money on the street is most concerning to me. You have to have it to spend it,” he said.
On the plus side, he said record high seasons had rewarded everyone.
“Sharpening your pencils to save money in what I can only call a definite twin season economy is a very real reality.”
Luciano de Riso, operation manager at Grand Old House and the Wharf, agrees that the seasons are becoming more extreme.
“This year slow season has been slower than expected and longer, too,” he said. “I do believe that this is more of a trend that will continue for the short future.”
He made the best of the situation by using the slow period to add a new wine shop and tapas and wine bar to the property. The old Caymanian building often needs maintenance and the owners usually close during the slowest months of the year to work on the property.
Better must come
A spokesperson for the Department of Tourism said there had been strong momentum for stayover visitors in the first quarter of the year, but that had tailed off after Easter. She acknowledged the impact of the reduction in service from Jet Blue, which will worsen in September with the service dropped completely for that month.
But the airline will return to daily service in the high season along with multiple other new routes, including the recently announced three-times weekly service from Ft. Lauderdale starting 4 Dec.
She said, “Global economic factors, including concerns around inflation and changing consumer spending behaviors, are impacting travel patterns across the region.”
The spokesperson said Cayman was already looking in good shape for winter 2026 with increased airlift, a new marketing campaign and new hotel openings, including the Grand Hyatt.
The spokesperson said, “While there is uncertainty in some US source markets, CIDOT remains steadfast in our commitment to fostering a sustainable and flourishing tourism industry.”
By the end of the year, the spokesperson said the Department of Tourism expects to see an increase on the 437,842 stayover visitors from 2024.
In terms of cruise passenger arrivals, the department says the picture is mixed but stable.
“While some operators have reduced capacity, others are maintaining their commitment to Cayman for the remainder of the year – demonstrating that the Cayman Islands is still attracting cruise business and cruise remains an integral part of our tourism economy.”
