Air and Cruise Passenger Arrivals Grow in Q1 2026

​The Department of Statistics tracks all visitors (including post immigration transfers) at Princess Juliana International Airport as Air Passenger Arrivals. St. Maarten’s hub status means some travelers connect to nearby islands, including French St. Martin. The new digital immigration system enhances data accuracy, though limitations persist in distinguishing transfers, residents, and EU citizens, impacting detailed statistics. The term “Air Passenger Arrivals” is now used to reflect all arrivals through the airport port of entry, providing a broader and more accurate representation of air traffic and tourism movements.​​

Passenger Air Arrivals results for Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025

• Total air passenger arrivals in Q1 2026 reached 314,765, reflecting an increase of 57,842 passengers, or 23%, compared to Q1 2025.
• North America (the United States and Canada) remained the primary source market, accounting for 213,595 arrivals, or 67.9% of all arrivals during quarter 1 of 2026.
• The United States continued to be the largest individual market, contributing 171,340 arrivals, which represented 54.4% of total arrivals and approximately 80% of the North American market (USA & Canada), with an average of more than 57,000 passengers per month.
• The European Union ranked as the second-largest market with 76,790 arrivals, accounting for 24.4% of total arrivals of Q1 2026. France led the region with 31,091 arrivals (40.5% of EU arrivals and 9.9% overall), followed by the Netherlands with 18,502 arrivals (24.1% of EU arrivals and 5.9% overall).
• The Caribbean region recorded 9,946 arrivals, representing 3.2% of total arrivals and averaging more than 3,300 passengers monthly.
• Central and South America contributed 8,588 arrivals, or 2.7% of total arrivals, averaging more than 2,800 passengers per month and showing an increase of approximately 1,700 passengers compared to Q1 2025.
• Arrivals from the Rest of the World totalled 5,846 passengers, accounting for 1.9% of total arrivals and averaging more than 1,900 passengers monthly.

Table 1.

Table 2.

Cruise Arrivals results for Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025

• St. Maarten recorded a total of 748,603 cruise visitors during Q1 2026, representing an increase of 18% compared to the 635,968 visitors recorded in Q1 2025.
• January 2026 showed a 19% increase in cruise passenger arrivals compared to January 2025.
• February 2026 experienced a 16% increase in cruise passengers and recorded approximately 30% more cruise calls than in the same month of the previous year.
• March 2026 registered an 18% increase in cruise passenger arrivals compared to March 2025, despite approaching the start of the traditional off-season.
• Total cruise ship calls during Q1 2026 reached 316, representing an increase of 40 calls compared to Q1 2025.

Table 3.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at statinfo@sintmaartengov.org. A copy of this report will also be published on the STAT website at stats.sintmaartengov.org​​