~Air arrivals jump 21.4%; cruise passenger count approaches one million despite sharp May decline.~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Sint Maarten recorded approximately 1.56 million combined air and cruise arrivals during the first six months of 2026, representing a substantial 16.5 percent increase over the same period last year, according to figures released by the Department of Statistics (STAT).
The provisional data show that 566,722 passengers arrived by air between January and June, while 993,649 cruise passengers came ashore at Port St. Maarten.
Together, the two sectors brought 1,560,371 arrivals during the first half of the year—an increase of 221,212 over the approximately 1.34 million recorded during the corresponding period of 2025.
While cruise tourism continued to deliver the most passengers, air arrivals grew faster.
Air Arrivals Climb Every Month
Air arrivals increased by 21.4 percent, rising from 466,800 during the first half of 2025 to 566,722 in 2026. This amounted to 99,922 additional arrivals in six months.
The increase was not driven by a single exceptional month. Every month from January through June recorded more air arrivals than the corresponding month in 2025.
Air arrivals reached:
- 102,893 in January
- 99,347 in February
- 112,525 in March
- 98,557 in April
- 78,882 in May
- 74,518 in June
March was the busiest month for air travel, with 112,525 arrivals.
First-quarter air arrivals reached 314,765, an increase of 22.5 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025. Second-quarter arrivals stood at 251,957, representing growth of approximately 20 percent.
The sustained monthly increases point to continued demand for Sint Maarten as a destination and regional aviation hub.
Cruise Traffic Nears One Million
Cruise passenger arrivals reached 993,649 during the first six months of 2026, up from 872,359 during the same period in 2025.
That represented an increase of 121,290 passengers, or 13.9 per cent.
The strongest cruise performance occurred during the first quarter, when 748,603 passengers came ashore—an increase of 17.7 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year.
January was the busiest month for the entire tourism sector, bringing 292,526 cruise passengers to the island. February recorded 227,719 passengers, while March brought 228,358.
The second quarter, however, was more uneven.
April increased from 113,899 passengers in 2025 to 119,940 in 2026, while June climbed sharply from 52,473 to 67,983.
May moved in the opposite direction. Cruise arrivals fell from 70,019 in May 2025 to 57,123 in May 2026, a decline of approximately 18.4 per cent.
As a result, second-quarter cruise growth slowed to 3.7 percent, with 245,046 passengers recorded compared with 236,391 during the same quarter last year.
Strong Numbers, but Economic Impact Still Matters
The figures offer an encouraging sign of visitor demand, but passenger volume alone does not show how much money stayed in the local economy.
Air visitors generally stay for several days and spend on hotels, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and other services. Cruise passengers typically spend only several hours ashore.
The 21.4 percent increase in air arrivals is therefore particularly significant for businesses that depend on overnight tourism. However, government and tourism authorities will still have to demonstrate whether the higher passenger numbers are translating into stronger hotel occupancy, increased visitor spending, additional employment and improved public revenues.
STAT said it compiled the figures from arrival records supplied by Immigration and Border Protection Services for air traffic and Port St. Maarten for cruise passengers.
The second-quarter figures remain provisional and may be revised once final records are processed.