TCI News
A Statement from the Turks & Caicos Hotel & Tourism Associations
#Providenciales, June 7, 2018 – Turks and Caicos – The Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association [TCHTA] is proudly preparing to 
send off the Culinary Team to compete once again in the Taste of the Caribbean competition hosted by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association [CHTA]. This will mark the third year in a row that the Turks & Caicos Islands have been represented in this international cooking competition and the TCHTA is looking to repeat the success of last year and bring home gold medals for our ‘Beautiful by Nature’ islands.
Before the TCHTA took a team to the competition in 2016, our country had not participated in 20 years. Since then, the TCHTA’s efforts to reposition the spotlight on our country’s culinary talent has resulted in our Team bringing home a silver medal their first year back in the competition followed by a gold medal in 2017. Considering the multitude of competitors from across the Caribbean that has been involved in the competition over its 25-year history, this was no small feat.
Each year the TCHTA sends invitations to all of its members inclusive of restaurants with the hopes of assembling a super team of top culinary talent. The success of the Team wouldn’t be possible without the continued support of these members. The organizations that accept the invitation contribute by providing their top chefs and allowing them to participate in training as well as the competition itself. In addition, they provide sponsorship which aids with registration fees, training, and travel.
While it is our hope for every chef in the country to get an opportunity to participate, we encourage restaurants to join forces with the TCHTA as Allied members to further strengthen our Culinary Team’s presence in the international realm while we continue promoting the talents while inspiring our little chefs and becoming mentors for our culinary Adventure programs.
We have always welcomed and expressed keen interest in working with local and influential individuals in the industry who would bring additional talent to the Team and the Junior Culinary Adventure program. The junior program has seen junior chefs such as Robinangel Simons, Martin Wilkins,Christin Greene and Wayne Gardiner and others grow through the ranks and have even represented Turk & Caicos and won gold at several international and regional culinary events.
We are extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve, and this year the Culinary Team will be led by Coach Executive Chef Edwin Gallardo of Seven Stars Resort and Chef Colin Watson of Beaches Resort. This incredible leadership from our members is a huge asset and commitment that should be recognized. The team will also feature former Lit’l chefs, Wilkiens Martin and Christin Greene along with current Lit’l Chefs Inga Stubbs and Kevin Missick. Derrick Carter, Aristotle Florida, Joseph Charles, Vadivel Raju and Lauren Callighen.
TCHTA and its member affiliation (membership) with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association [CHTA], is what allows the Turks and Caicos Islands to take part in the Taste of the Caribbean competition. Taste of the Caribbean is a CHTA initiative and therefore sets all rules and requirement for members to follows. We are fortunate to be able to participate in this initiative of the CHTA whose focus, as is our own, is primarily on private sector partnerships for the promotion of the tourism product.
We are continuously working to improve our tourism product for the advancement of our brand and we welcome our members of the culinary community to have open dialogues and provide feedback to the TCHTA on how we can better represent our brand locally and internationally.
For more information, interested persons and organizations are encouraged to call the TCHTA office on 339-5787 or visit their social media pages.
Release: TCHTA
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.
-
TCI News1 week agoExperience Turks and Caicos and Aquila Host Product Development Workshops to Strengthen Sister Islands Tourism
-
News6 days agoThe Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
-
Bahamas News4 days agoTens of Millions Announced – Where is the Development?
-
News6 days agoStrong December Performance Signals Continued Demand for the Turks and Caicos Islands
-
Bahamas News3 days agoGroundbreaking for Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre
-
Health3 days agoWhat to Look for with Self-Checks at Home
-
Caribbean News7 days agoMottley Sworn in After Historic Clean Sweep in Barbados Election
-
News1 week agoMulti-Agency Planning Enforcement Operation Conducted at multiple locations in Providenciales