Overnight visitors to the Caribbean are still growing, but more slowly than a year ago, while cruise traffic is setting records. That is the headline from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) figures presented at its State of the Tourism Industry Conference in Guyana and reported by the Jamaica Gleaner on October 13, 2026. For anyone booking a resort stay this winter, the numbers are worth reading closely, because the regional average hides large differences between islands.
What the CTO figures show
Between January and June 2026, the region received about 18.9 million stayover visitors, up from 18.6 million in the same period of 2025. That is a rise of 1.9 percent. The split between the two quarters matters. The first quarter grew 4.1 percent, with roughly 10 million visitors. The second quarter slipped 0.4 percent to 8.9 million, which the report describes as a moderation in demand. The comparison is harder than it looks, because the second quarter of 2025 had grown 5 percent.
Cruise passenger visits told a different story. They rose 11 percent to a record 21.7 million, with the first quarter up 12 percent and the second up 9.3 percent. Nineteen of the 24 destinations that reported saw increases. The CTO’s research director, Aliyyah Shakeer, noted that these are passenger counts rather than unique visitors, since one traveller can be counted at several ports on the same itinerary.
The wider picture is soft. UN Tourism reported that international arrivals worldwide rose only 0.4 percent, to about 690 million, in the first six months of 2026. Against that backdrop, a Caribbean stayover gain of nearly 2 percent is respectable. The CTO cited higher fuel prices, pressure on aviation and geopolitical tensions as headwinds.
Where visitors are coming from
The United States remains the largest source market, with about 9.18 million visitors and a 48.4 percent share, up 1.6 percent. Canada grew faster, up 5.9 percent to 1.77 million. Europe was nearly flat at 2.56 million, up 0.4 percent. Intra-Caribbean travel rose 4.4 percent to about 578,000.
The fastest-growing market was South America, up 19.5 percent to about 1.19 million, though it still represents only 6.3 percent of regional arrivals. For resort guests, the practical effect is more flight capacity from a wider range of cities over time. Airlines have been adding Canadian and US routes for the coming winter, as covered in our reports on Apple Vacations nonstops from Lansing and Porter’s winter sun network.
Hotels are charging more
Hotel performance data from the same report points to firm pricing. Average occupancy was 73.1 percent. The average daily rate rose 9.2 percent to US$414.52, and revenue per available room climbed 11.4 percent to US$303.15. These are regional averages across all hotel types, including high-end properties, so they do not predict the price of any single all-inclusive package. They do suggest that hotels are earning more per room even with modest growth in guest numbers. Anyone building a budget should read our guide to the fees and hidden costs that sit on top of a headline room rate.
Island by island
The report included several country figures, all drawn from the CTO presentation and local tourism offices:
- Turks and Caicos recorded 494,466 stayover visitors from January to August, up 5 percent, plus 776,438 cruise passenger arrivals in the same eight months.
- St Vincent and the Grenadines reported visitor arrivals up 8.4 percent from January to August, following a record 2025 with arrivals above 120,000.
- St Kitts said on-island tourism spending rose 22 percent, from US$28.3 million to US$34.5 million, citing Mastercard figures. It also expects added American Airlines frequencies and an earlier seasonal start by Air Canada.
- St Lucia gave no figures but expects growth from hotel developments, air connectivity and cultural festival marketing.
For comparison with other markets we have covered, see the Dominican Republic’s record nine-month total and Grenada’s record visitor spending.
Forecast for the full year
The CTO expects stayover arrivals to grow 2 to 3 percent for 2026, approaching 36 million. It projects cruise passenger visits to rise 5 to 7 percent, to about 38 million. Both forecasts imply that growth will be slower in the second half of the year than in the first, particularly for cruise traffic.
Two upcoming events may shape the next round of announcements: a Latin American tourism summit in St Lucia in May 2027 and an Air Connectivity Summit in Jamaica in February.
What this means if you are booking
A slowdown in stayover growth does not mean empty resorts or automatic discounts. Occupancy near 73 percent and a rising average rate point to a market where hotels are not desperate for guests. Cruise-heavy islands may feel busier in port areas and on popular excursions, so it is sensible to check ship calendars with the destination or your resort desk before planning a day trip. Treat any single regional average with caution: individual islands, seasons and resort tiers vary widely, and the figures above cover only January to June for the region as a whole, with some countries reporting to August.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner, October 13, 2026, reporting on the CTO State of the Tourism Industry Conference 2026. Check the CTO and each destination’s tourism authority for updated figures.