TCI News
Not clouds, smoke from fire at Provo garbage dump site… again residents concerned
#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, April 11, 2018 – The wind is shifting and that could mean bad news for resorts and residential communities flanking the TCEM-managed, Providenciales landfill. At this hour, plumes of smoke continue to billow from a raging fire at the site and a media statement from the company explains that the blaze was somehow ignited in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. 
“On Wednesday, April 11th at approximately 1 a.m., a fire was started at the Providenciales Landfill by an unknown source. The landfill operator – TCEM — identified the issue and responded quickly, but due to the late hour and the way the fire commenced, the fire did spread to a limited degree before it could be dampened, and it has produced visible smoke.” 
It was explained to Magnetic Media that the fire is not thought to have been sparked by arson though.
In a government statement about the vexing blaze, the Environmental Health Department Director, Kenrick Neely shared that, “The Environmental Health Department immediately contacted the Domestic Fire Department for assistance in getting the fire under control. The Fire Department was able to bring the fire under control by 6:00 a.m. With that said, Environmental Health Department will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that the Contractor implement measures to prevent/limit the occurrence of fires at both landfill sites.” Adding that, “The Environmental Health Department would like to thank the Fire Department for their quick response and for getting the fire under control.”
For now, the homes of both Belglade Parker Gardens and Millennium Heights and the two resorts – North West Point Resort and Amanyara are spared the often nauseous and likely toxic fumes and smoke. The fire is visible and work continues even late today into extinguishing the blaze.
“TCEM personnel, with the assistance of the TCI fire service, is working exhaustively to address the situation and is confident that it will be promptly extinguished., though smoke may continue to be visible for some period as the hot areas cools. TCEM staff is trained in landfill fire management and mitigation, and response protocols are in place.” 
Turks and Caicos Environmental Management is convinced that someone set this fire and agree to do more to stop these reoccurring event which sometimes engulfs surrounding communities, presenting inconveniencing and unhealthy conditions for thousands of residents in the Wheeland District.
“Though fires are a normal hazard at landfills of this nature, at the request of the Environmental Health Department, the operator will continue to implement additional security and fire mitigation measures and redundancies to forestall future incidents. Investigations have commenced and are ongoing with the Police and Fire Departments.”
Fires at the dump have been off and on occurrences now for 10 years.
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.
