GRAND CAYMAN — Arrivals for 2018 are off to a record-breaking start for the Cayman Islands with a total of 39,185 stayover visitors recorded for the month of January, an increase of 23.87% over 2017.

This represents the best January in recorded arrivals history and is the eighth consecutive month (June 2017 through January 2018) that the Cayman Islands has had record-breaking growth.

Canada saw growth of 13.47% growth over January 2017. This represents the best January in recorded history for Canada with a total of 3,353 stayover visitors.

The 23.87% growth is the highest percent growth increase for a January in 12 years and is 13.9% higher than January 2015, the previous highest January in recorded history.

A total of 218,430 cruise passengers visited the Cayman Islands in January, an increase of 20 percent over January 2017.

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism has launched its Summer Only in Cayman promotion, which this year seeks to leverage Cayman’s position as the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean.

Accommodation partners are offering a fourth-night free deal.

“Continued increases in visitation are evidence that the state of our tourism industry is strong,” commented Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism, The Honourable Moses Kirkconnell. “I am optimistic that if we continue this path, 2018 will be another record-breaking year for arrivals and that the Cayman Islands will benefit from economic growth that all can be proud of. I applaud the Department of Tourism and all tourism partners for their continued contributions to this vibrant industry.”