TCI News
TCI: Digicel Jumpstart was a success`
#TurksandCaicos, April 11, 2018 – Providenciales – The fourth consecutive Digicel NBA Jumpstart Basketball camps got started in Turks and Caicos before continuing to five other markets in the region over the coming weeks. The Graceway Sports Complex saw 59 boys and 2 girls receiving specialised coaching from Troy Justice and Mamadou N’Diaye (Former NBA Player). The participants were grouped based on age, falling into either the under-16 or under-14 category.
Two campers in the under-14 category came out on top with Nickeem Clare winning the Free-throws Winner Award and Richard Saville winning the Sportsmanship Award. For the under 16 category, Kenny Forbes won the Sportsmanship Award, and six others were selected to participate in the Digicel NBA Jumpstart Elite Camp to be held in Trinidad and Tobago from July 14-15. The elite camp will feature the best from each of the Digicel NBA Jumpstart markets and the talented six who will represent the Turks and Caicos Islands are Brendan Henfield, Jamel Ward, Kimiko Talbot, Omari Williams, Omar Garland and Jahmich Hutchinson. From the elite camp, the top 14 players will be invited to participate in an authentic NBA experience in the U.S. later this year.
The organisers of the Clinics commented on the talent they saw:
Troy Justice, NBA Sr. Director of Basketball Operations International at the NBA: “I think the kids learned some new things. I saw them get better and there were some kids that really applied what we taught and got a lot better from day one to day three. For two or three of them – you could see that the light bulb really went off for them—that was encouraging to see as a coach.”
“I think these five boys and one girl that we’ve selected from the TCI are going to compete very, very well against the players from the other countries. They’re hard-nosed, they’re tough and they’re competitive and that was good to see,” he continued.
This was a great experience for me, I learned a lot that would help me to get better and go further in my basketball career thanks to Jumpstart” said Brendan Hendfield, Jumpstart participant.
While in Turks and Caicos, the NBA and Digicel teams spent some time with Michael Williams, a basketball fan with special needs who was thrilled to watch the training and hang out with coaches Troy Justice and Mamadou N’Diaye. He was also gifted with a signed NBA jersey, cap and basketball by Mamadou.
Upcoming Digicel NBA Jumpstart Basketball Camps
| Market | Camp Dates (Saturdays-Sundays) |
| Antigua & Barbuda | April 14-15 |
| Barbados | April 28-29 |
| Jamaica | May 5-6 |
| Haiti | May 12-13 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | May 19-20 |
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.
