Hotel & Tourism Association Welcomes Top Travel Partners to TCI for Annual Conference

#Providenciales, May 12, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – The Turks & Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA) is proud to welcome over 40 top-producing travel and tourism wholesalers to the 15th Annual Turks and Caicos Travel Conference (TACC), which kicked off on May 8th with a welcome cocktail celebration at Solana Restaurant at the Ocean Club West Resort in Grace Bay. 

The Providenciales based Hotel and Tourism Association, the Ministry of Tourism and the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board to showcase the beautiful award-winning destination. Top travel wholesalers in attendance include; Orbitz, Travel Impressions, Expedia, Travelocity, US Airways Vacations, JetBlue Vacations and other companies which promote and sell the destination to travel agents and consumers in North America, the top tourist markets for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The three day event will see the attendance of Minister of Tourism, Honorable Ralph Higgs, Junior Minister of Tourism Danae Dennie and Director of the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board, Ramon Andrews along with newly elected President of the TCHTA Todd Foss and his executive committee, Stacy Cox CEO of the TCHTA, several member of governments and association members.   

During the Thursday morning conference, Director Andrews noted that arrival to the destination was up by 23% while Honorable Higgs expressed his gratitude and encouraged travel partners to stick with Brand Turk & Caicos.  While Premier Cartwright Robinson laid out the Island’s plan to become an eco-friendly destination.

The elaborate three-day event which will run from May 8th through May 10th allows various hoteliers, tour operators and associations to update stakeholders and travel wholesalers about the tourism product and unique offerings of the Islands.

In Todd Foss’s opening speech, he gave an overview of the history of Tourism in the Turks & Caicos while applauding the growth in infrastructure, airlifts and partnerships. “The growth of destination Turks & Caicos has been an astonishing one.” he said, “Now the destination is boasting over 600,000 airline seats per annum, more than 3600 rooms in the destination, government revenue estimated at approximately $65M from the sector,” said Foss, “With new properties in the pipeline that will be open within three to five years, the Turks and Caicos Islands is now ranked among the most desired places to visit in the Caribbean, by extension the world, with many accolades and more than a million visitors to our shores on an annual basis.”

“The snapshot history lesson is about partnership, positioning and perseverance between you,” He continued, “Our hotel partners and the Tourist Board to make Turks and Caicos Islands what it is today”

During the conference, wholesalers will participate in numerous hotel site inspections, and special tours and excursions.  The three-day event will allow travel professionals to experience brand TCI for themselves and also see firsthand the islands, hotels, resorts, and facilities that they offer to their clients. It is also an opportunity to meet face to face with all the top hoteliers, discuss marketing strategies and organize promotions for 2019 and beyond.

Foss wrapped up the conference on the 8th by extending a big thank you to all involved saying, “We join the Minister of Tourism and Director of the Tourist Board in thanking those who have traveled to our shores for this year’s event and to all our participating TCHTA members; Turks and Caicos Collections, Ocean Club Resorts, Bianca Sands, Solana, Sailrock, La Vista Azul, Villa Del Mar, Windsong Resort, Ports of Call Resort, Seven Stars Resort, Coral Gardens, and Beaches. We’d also like to give a special thanks to the Hartling Group who is providing the Yacht party, the closing party at The Shore club, the venue for the conference at The Shore club and the Tradeshow at The Palms. You’ve all truly extended the royal treatment to the TACC delegation and for that we say ‘Thank You’”.

Release: TCHTA