Cruise passenger spending dropped dramatically in the Cayman Islands last year, according to a newly released government report.

Individual passenger spending ashore dropped from roughly $96.46 per passenger in 2006 to approximately $63.40 in 2007.

Total spending by cruise passengers fell from about $167.68 million in 2006 to roughly $97.88 million in 2007, according to Department of Tourism figures used in the Cayman Islands Government’s Annual Economic Report.

Cruise Industry News analysis showed a drop in overall passenger arrivals those years: from more than 1.93 million in 2006 to approximately 1.7 million in 2007.

The Caymans expect even fewer cruise passengers by the end of 2008: some 1.6 million, said Joseph Woods Jr., manager of cruise operations and security at the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands.

“We probably would have done 1.7 million again, but we had some disruptions due to weather,” Woods said.