TCI News
Campaign on the TCI Education Sector Plan launched
#Providenciales, June 4, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – Substantial changes are in the works for the Turks and Caicos Islands Education Sector over the period 2018 -2022. Guided by key strategic goals, the TCI Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture, Social and Library Services is seeking to provide thirteen years of a rich formal educational experience for the country’s children through its Education Sector Plan.
Priorities of the plan include providing equitable access to quality learning opportunities; improving teachers’ professional development; improving curriculum and strategies for assessment; increasing access to quality early childhood development services; providing opportunities for all learners in technical and vocational education and training, TVET; and increasing provision for tertiary and continuing education.
“Our efforts will afford students including those with special needs access to quality education, resilient and safe learning spaces that will prepare them for the labour market and for lifelong learning,” said Minister of Education, Hon Karen Malcolm who is excited about the reform and the Strategic Imperatives.
In an effort to better acquaint the people of the Turks and Caicos with the Strategic Imperatives and to encourage their engagement with the education sector, a public education campaign is being launched by the Ministry of Education with the support of the European Union.
The public education campaign is being spearheaded by the Government of the Turks and Caicos with the support of the European Union. This includes informative Public Service Announcements on radio and television; social media posts featuring news articles, captivating graphics and videos and interesting photographs. These awareness efforts are bolstered by events for engagement of Education Officials with Community Stakeholders in Education, students from the primary to the tertiary level of learning and the TCI Media core.
According to Education Director, Edgar Howell, the plan provides a road map that will ensure creation of an enabling environment for successful learning. “In this case, our reference to the learner is not restricted to the child or students. It envisions each stakeholder as a learner, and the environment and spaces in which we operate a daily basis, as the classroom, in its broadest sense. While the plan focuses primarily on formal learning and learning spaces, we are cognizant that learning is not confined to the formal learning spaces.”
Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union said the EU was pleased to support the public education campaign as implementation of the government’s Education Sector Plan will contribute to strengthening the education system in the Turks and Caicos.
“It is important for citizens to be informed about the plans that are in place to improve the education sector. It is by so doing that people will be encouraged to support actions that enhance learning and improve the quality of education,” Ambassador Wasilewska noted.
The Education Sector Plan 2018-2022 was announced to the general public in February 2018. The Education Sector Plan can be accessed on the TCI Government website at https://gov.tc/education/.
“Improving the Education System in the TCI…..Together we can do it”
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.
