Cayman Islands: International tourism, receipts (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Cayman Islands' international tourism, receipts (current US$) rose 5.8% on 2018 (from US$911 million to US$964 million).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +4.8% and a typical year strayed about 15.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 43% in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 31.9% in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$60.72 million a year. A straight line explains 94% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2019, Cayman Islands had the 6th highest value of the 10 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Cayman Islands in the 2019 ranking

• Tanzania — 3rd of 10: US$2.62 billion
• Myanmar — 4th of 10: US$2.5 billion
• Kenya — 5th of 10: US$1.76 billion
• Togo — 7th of 10: US$264 million
• Benin — 8th of 10: US$240.86 million
• Burkina Faso — 9th of 10: US$173 million

What this measures

International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. The data on inbound tourism show the arrivals of nonresident tourists (overnight visitors) at national borders.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 25 values

International tourism, receipts (current US$) in nearby economies

• Argentina — US$1.7 billion (2020)
• Aruba — US$1.08 billion (2020)
• Bahamas, The — US$1.01 billion (2020)
• Barbados — US$1.07 billion (2016)
• Bolivia — US$243 million (2020)
• Brazil — US$3.1 billion (2020)
• British Virgin Islands — US$484 million (2015)
• Chile — US$1.03 billion (2020)
• Colombia — US$1.96 billion (2020)
• Costa Rica

More private sector & trade data for Cayman Islands

• International tourism, number of arrivals — 660,000 (2020)
• Import unit value index (2015 = 100) — 137 (2025)
• Export unit value index (2015 = 100) — 108.4 (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$2.11 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$25 million (2025)
• New business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64) — 201.01 (2024)
• New businesses registered (number) — 11,197 (2024)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 26.44% (2024)
• International tourism, expenditures (current US$) — US$299 million (2019)

Every indicator for Cayman Islands is on the .

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Cayman Islands's international tourism, receipts (current US$)?

US$964 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 144.67% from US$394 million in 1995 (3.8% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$964 million in 2019 and the lowest US$356 million in 2005.

How does Cayman Islands rank?

6th highest of 10 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts (current US$) unusual for Cayman Islands?

In 2019, Cayman Islands' international tourism, receipts (current US$) rose 5.8% on 2018 (from US$911 million to US$964 million). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +4.8% and a typical year strayed about 15.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.RCPT.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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