The Cayman Islands have experienced five consecutive years of economic growth.
Cayman’s gross domestic product reached $2.8 billion at the end of 2015 and grew a further 3 percent in the first half of 2016.
“It exceeds the initial GDP forecast for the year of 2.1 percent and is the highest growth rate since 2007,” Said Finance Minister Marco Archer in a statement accompanying the new numbers.
The economy outpaced government’s forecasts in 2016 and grew faster than it did in the first half of 2015.
As of Spring 2016, Cayman’s population increased 2.7 percent from the previous year, standing at 61,259.
The number of work permits continued to grow, increasing to 23,411 as of mid-2016.
The total unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, and the unemployment rate of Caymanians dropped to 5.6 percent.
Cruise arrivals continued to grow, up 7.1 percent from last year. However, there was a dip in air arrivals, down 1.4 percent.
Minister for Tourism Moses Kirkconnell said “Tourism forecasts anticipated slower growth for this year due to the capacity constraints with respect to room stock. In addition, air arrivals softened due to the rise of the Zika virus which afflicted the entire region for most of this year. At the same time, weakening of the British pound following the Brexit vote, coupled with terror attacks in Turkey, France, and Germany negatively impacted travel from Europe, causing tourists to postpone travel plans.”
There are a number of high-value projects driving activity in the construction industry. Most notably Dart’s continued expansion of Camana Bay.
The indication is that Cayman is moving from strength to strength. The upward trends are a product of dedicated investors and developers who have an interest in strengthening Cayman over the long term.
“We expect our air arrivals to pick up once visitors to the newly opened Kimpton Seafire resort start being counted in government’s totals, and in the years to come, when other projects now waiting in the wings begin to take center stage, such as Dart’s future hotels, the Ironwood golf resort and the planned expansions to Health City Cayman Islands.” Wrote Cayman compass’s editorial board.
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