4th Quarter Cayman Travel Down 11%

In 2007 air arrivals were up 9.1% from 2006 and arrivals came close to the level set in 2003, easily surpassing travel levels from 2004-2006. Despite record fuel prices and a U.S. recession, arrivals were up 9.8% through August and monthly had increased over the prior year for 16 consecutive months and 35 of the last 36 months. Yet beginning in September 2008, traffic began to lag as the worldwide economy slowed. For the last four months of 2008, traffic was down 11% and for all of 2008, air traffic increased only 3.9%. It’s tough to know what 2009 will bring, but all indications are that air travel in 2009 will be down 5-10% from 2008 levels.

TOURIST AIR ARRIVALS BY MONTH

Month	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Jan	25,689	9,601	20,163	23,726	25,845
Feb	32,022	13,202	25,004	27,947	30,380
Mar	37,248	18,810	31,493	35,146	38,425
Apr	33,903	15,423	28,403	27,003	29,978
May	25,502	12,061	21,172	23,427	25,722
Jun	26,890	14,008	24,251	25,837	27,971
Jul	33,118	16,610	24,256	26,895	30,008
Aug	23,191	11,917	18,064	19,481	21,629
Sep	4,982	8,494	10,155	11,457	10,330
Oct	1,968	11,104	14,634	15,102	14,710
Nov	4,215	14,979	22,276	25,227	19,731
Dec	11,201	21,592	27,386	30,255	28,150
TOTAL	259,929	167,801	267,257	291,503	302,879