TCI News
TCI: Premier’s attendance at CGI Action Network Meeting on Post-Disaster Recovery in the Caribbean
New York, September 26, 2019 – USA – Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson attended the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative Action Network Panel Discussion on Post-Disaster Recovery in New York.
During the discussion, speakers shared ongoing efforts in the Caribbean to fortify its future in the face of climate change while inspiring new, specific and measurable ways to contribute to the progress being made throughout the Caribbean in terms of climate resilience.
The panellists including Premier Robinson were asked questions on disaster management and post-disaster recovery plans to share information with other Caribbean country representatives on different methodologies, planned initiatives, policies and strategies to mitigate disasters and minimise the overall recovery time after a major natural disaster.
Premier Robinson spoke during the panel discussion on TCI’s Recovery process post Category 5 Hurricane Irma in 2017. She accredited the minimised recovery time to carefully planned preparedness strategies that would be active in a state of emergency like that of a natural disaster, a strong economy and open communication from quick responding utility service providers.
Commenting on how TCI as able to bounce back so quickly after a storm of that magnitude, Premier said, “The Turks and Caicos maintaining insurance protection via its Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility demonstrates the proactive approach we have taken to manage the contingent risks posed by climate change. It proved beneficial after the passage of the storms.
The Turks and Caicos Government’s fiscal policies enabled us to maintain our Standard and Poor’s sovereign rating of BBB+; an economic indicator of the TCI’s strong fiscal position and a reflection of our ability to economically withstand the effects of a large scale natural disaster.
Our economic position further enabled my Government to provide direct assistance to Turks and Caicos Islanders in bearing the financial burden of repairs in the short term by waiving both the customs import duty and customs processing fees on items needed for home repairs and over the long term to potential and existing property owners through a Homeowners Empowerment Policy.”
She added that the TCI Government continues to invest in resilient infrastructure and critical facilities following 2017 and well into the future.
The Premier also took part in a private roundtable with former president of the United States of America and founder of the foundation President Bill Clinton.
The Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative Action Network brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to focus efforts on putting people first, including prioritizing a resilient future by helping communities to plan and prepare for future storms and the mounting effects of climate change. The convening of the Action Network follows last June’s meeting in the United States Virgin Islands and calls on members of government, private sector, and non-profits to continue the work started in 2018 in direct response to Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
Action Network members discussed progress made on their first initiatives and with the recent relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian’s impact on the Bahamas. It outlined the continued need to foster economic growth in the Caribbean that is sustainable and climate-shock resistant.
Release: TCIG
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.
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