Caribbean and South America deliver stronger visitor numbers to St. Maarten in first half of 2026

GREAT BAY--North America remains by far St. Maarten’s dominant air visitor market, but figures for the first half of 2026 show that the Caribbean and South America continue to play an important role in the destination’s tourism performance and regional connectivity.

Between January and June 2026, St. Maarten received 22,470 arrivals from the Caribbean, compared with 19,352 during the same period in 2025. That represents an increase of 3,118 visitors, or 16.1 percent.

South America grew even faster. Arrivals from the region reached 15,857 during the first six months of 2026, up from 13,124 in the corresponding period of 2025. The increase of 2,733 visitors represented growth of approximately 20.8 percent.

Together, the Caribbean and South American markets generated 38,327 arrivals in the first half of 2026, compared with 32,476 one year earlier, an overall increase of approximately 18 percent, with the month on April delivering the best numbers from the Caribbean region.

April stands out for regional traffic

For the Caribbean market, April was the strongest month of the first half of 2026, with 5,032 arrivals. That compared with 3,915 in April 2025, an increase of approximately 28.5 percent. Caribbean arrivals were also higher than the previous year in every month of the first half, rising from 3,387 to 3,664 in January, 2,436 to 2,940 in February, 2,955 to 3,342 in March, 3,304 to 3,861 in May and 3,355 to 3,631 in June.

The April performance is also notable in the context of St. Maarten Carnival, which has long been strategically positioned during April as part of efforts to extend economic and visitor activity beyond the traditional peak tourism period. While the arrival figures do not by themselves establish Carnival as the cause of the increase, the continued strength of April, particularly from the Caribbean, offers another indication that this positioning continues to pay dividends by giving regional travelers an additional reason to visit St. Maarten at a time when the traditional high season would normally be winding down.

South America followed a somewhat different pattern, with its strongest individual month coming in January at 3,428 arrivals, up from 2,792 in January 2025. April nevertheless remained strong, recording 2,627 South American arrivals compared with 2,359 a year earlier. When the Caribbean and South America are considered together, April was their strongest combined month, generating 7,659 arrivals, up from 6,274 in April 2025, an increase of approximately 22 percent.

Dominican Republic and Trinidad lead Caribbean markets

Among specifically identified Caribbean countries and islands, the Dominican Republic was the largest source market during the first half of 2026, accounting for 4,109 arrivals.

Trinidad and Tobago followed with 3,411 visitors, while St. Kitts and Nevis contributed 2,553. Antigua and Barbuda generated 2,239 arrivals, Jamaica 2,203, Haiti 1,582 and Barbados 899.

An additional 5,474 arrivals were grouped under “Rest of the Caribbean,” meaning the overall contribution from smaller regional markets was also substantial when taken together.

The figures demonstrate that St. Maarten draws Caribbean visitors from a broad range of destinations rather than relying on a single neighboring island.

Brazil tops South America

In South America, Brazil was the strongest individually identified market during the first half of 2026, producing 4,297 arrivals.

Argentina followed with 2,359 visitors, ahead of Colombia with 2,186 and Guyana with 1,675. Venezuela accounted for 433 arrivals.

A further 4,907 visitors were classified within the broader Central and South American category, underscoring the contribution of several additional markets that are not individually separated in the figures.

Brazil’s performance was particularly strong at the beginning of the year, with 1,117 visitors in January and 1,079 in February before arrival numbers moderated over the following months.

A regional market worth watching

The size of St. Maarten’s North American market remains unmistakable. The United States and Canada accounted for the overwhelming majority of the 386,723 North American arrivals recorded during the first six months of 2026.

By comparison, the combined Caribbean and South American total represents a much smaller portion of the 566,722 total air arrivals recorded during the first half of the year. Their importance, however, extends beyond their percentage share of overall visitor traffic.

Regional travel supports hotels, restaurants, shopping and other tourism activity, but it also helps sustain St. Maarten’s position as an aviation hub for the northeastern Caribbean. That traffic is particularly important for regional carriers, including St. Maarten’s national carrier WINAIR, whose network depends heavily on movement between St. Maarten and surrounding Caribbean destinations.

Visitors moving between the islands are therefore not simply an additional tourism market. They are part of the passenger base that helps maintain air links between St. Maarten and neighboring destinations, links that are also important for residents, businesses and onward travel.

The first-half figures reinforce the scale of St. Maarten’s dependence on North America, but they also illustrate why Caribbean and South American traffic should not be treated as secondary to the island’s tourism and aviation strategy.

The two regions together brought almost 6,000 more visitors to St. Maarten in the first half of 2026 than they did one year earlier. South America grew by more than 20 percent, while the Caribbean increased by more than 16 percent.

For a destination that also functions as a regional aviation gateway, those visitors contribute not only to tourism spending but to the passenger volumes needed to sustain connectivity throughout the Caribbean.

North America may remain St. Maarten’s leading source market, but the numbers show that the islands and countries closer to home are continuing to deliver meaningful growth of their own.

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