TCI News
UK fulfilling constitutional security role reminded Premier, Mounts Bay warship in TCI
#Providenciales, Grand Turk, March 19, 2018 – The United Kingdom is fulfilling its constitutional mandate when it protects the borders of the Turks and Caicos Islands as an overseas territory; the Premier in a late day press release Monday labeled the inundation of illegal boats from Haiti, “an attack on the UK’s sovereignty.” 
Premier Sharlene Robinson added that it is up the British, “to do more in a sustainable way to fulfill its constitutional mandate for external and internal security.”
The comments came mere hours after a media statement from the Governor’s Office informing that the Mounts Bay, war ship would arrived today after being re-deployed from Belize to Turks and Caicos. The country was on Friday appraised of the fact that the TCI made a request for support and the UK responded with the RFA Mounts Bay, including aerial surveillance.
The Premier explained in a Friday press conference that there would also be “boots on the ground’ to assist the current round-up labeled, ‘Operation Guardian’ and today said, “TCI with its wide coastline requires much resources and this bolstering of patrol at this time is much needed together with regional and other international support.”
Five boats from Haiti managed to make landfall on Providenciales undetected over seven days from March 9-16 and reports indicate that another two boats were detected over the weekend; one of which is said to have been intercepted because the radar is again fully operational.
The Governor’s Office shared that “the Royal Navy ship, RFA Mounts Bay, has been redeployed at short notice from regional operations and will arrive in TCI waters this afternoon, 19 March, to assist the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police and border control authorities to tackle the recent upsurge in the number of illegal sloop landings in TCI. RFA Mounts Bay will work alongside the TCI enforcement authorities and regional partners to boost the maritime and aerial surveillance and interdiction capability of the TCI authorities.”
Among the regional partners who have been named as assisting the Turks and Caicos Islands are the US Coast Guard, which on March 11 forced two ships, spotted at sea, to turn back to Haiti. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force is also to offer help as bi-lateral talks continue with Bahamas Prime Minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, explained Premier Robinson.
“We continue active discussions with The Bahamas on how its Defence Force can assist,” she added, “Whilst we bolster patrol, upgrade our radar, carry out special operations, we ask residents to remain vigilant and to report all suspicious activities and individuals.” 
Magnetic Media has learned, that over the weekend, operations continued and that there were arrests of illegal migrants.
File Photo of RFA Mounts Bay when here to assist post Hurricane Irma
Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
News
The Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Wednesday, 11 February 2026: The Informal Settlements Unit (ISU) coordinated a multi-agency enforcement operation on Thursday, 29 January 2026, led by the Planning Department, with support from the Crown Land
Unit, the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force, and security provided by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. The operation, carried out at three different locations in Providenciales, formed part of ongoing government efforts to address unauthorised development and illegal occupation of land in accordance with governing legislation.
The operation commenced in Blue Hills, where five Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on unauthorised structures identified on Block and Parcel 60502/48.
Enforcement activity then moved to a second location off the Leeward Highway near Caicos Lodge, where six Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on additional unauthorised structures on Block and Parcel 60802/66.
The final phase of the operation took place in The Bight, where three unauthorised structures were removed, with all debris cleared from the site in keeping with established safety and environmental protocols.
The Informal Settlements Unit remains committed to working alongside its partner agencies to support lawful development, protect public and private land, and ensure that planning regulations are enforced in a coordinated and transparent manner across the Turks and Caicos Islands. Similar joint operations will continue as part of the Government’s wider strategy to address unauthorised development and informal settlement activity.
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