TCI News
Grace Bay Resorts announces the addition of Point Grace to its luxury portfolio
Boutique Operator Assumes Ownership and Management of the Idyllic 35-Suite Boutique Resort
#PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS & CAICOS–APRIL 12, 2018– Grace Bay Resorts announced today that it will assume ownership and management of Point Grace, the pristine boutique resort located less than a mile from Grace Bay Club on the award-winning Grace Bay Beach, effective immediately. The resort will be re-branded a Grace Bay Resort property and will retain the Point Grace name, with gradual improvements planned over the next several months. 
Point Grace enjoys a world class location on Grace Bay Beach, consistently named the World’s Best Beach by leading travel publications such as Conde Nast Traveler, providing a n extraordinary oceanfront experience to rival any Caribbean resort. With 35 luxuriously appointed suites, the resort blends Caribbean charm with modern, chic design. Point Grace currently operates two restaurants, Hutchings Restaurant, nestled in a tropical garden setting overlooking the pool, and Grace’s Cottage, a dinner-only restaurant with a diverse gourmet Caribbean menu. Point Grace also offers intimate spa experiences, a wide range of water activities and hand-made excursions. 
“We are honored to have been selected by the resort’s longtime owner to assume this role and include Point Grace in the Grace Bay Resorts group. Our primary goal is protecting the storied legacy of this iconic property,” says Mark Durliat, Chief Executive Officer and Principal of Grace Bay Resorts. “The original owner was a true pioneer in establishing this idyllic luxury resort and its dedicated staff have done an incredible job of establishing its strong presence in the market place.”
Point Grace ownership and Grace Bay Resorts met with the staff approximately one month ago to announce the pending change and discuss the transition. Meetings were also held with Ministers of Government and Labour Commissioner to confirm that the transition would ensure all staff remain employed, with employment contracts and benefits remaining intact. The resort will continue to run as before.
As a Small Luxury Hotels of the World affiliate, Point Grace is part of over 500 affiliated luxury hotels in more than 80 countries that offer genuine, one-of-a-kind experiences. Grace Bay Resorts will work alongside Point Grace staff to implement additional training programs and elevate the resort’s already strong service standards. “We are delighted to welcome Point Grace to the Grace Bay Resorts family,” states Nikheel Advani, Chief Operating Officer and Principal of Grace Bay Resorts. 
“We believe in this impeccable product as well as the dedicated employees and will continue to enhance the guest experience in the years to come. We are confident that we will be able to complement the work which is already being done at Point Grace and help the resort reach its full potential.”
The Point Grace story began over a century before ground was broken on the site that is now the resort. Grace Bay Beach is named after Grace Hutchings, a woman who visited the island on her honeymoon and quickly charmed the local residents. Over a century later, Point Grace was inspired and designed to do justice to Lady Grace. Today, that joyous spirit – unsullied, innocent, yet ablaze with natural splendor, resonates throughout the golden enclave of Point Grace.
Paired with Grace Bay Resorts’ service and training standards as well as its deep sales and distribution team, the addition of Point Grace to the Grace Bay Resorts portfolio reinforces the award-winning hospitality brand’s commitment to redefining luxury hospitality and service in the Caribbean.
PRESS RELEASE: GRACE BAY RESORTS
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.
