TCI News
Turks and Caicos Tourist Board Attends 26th Annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show
#Providenciales, October 31, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – The 26th Annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico from October 21 to 25, 2019. The FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show is the largest event of its kind in the region. The delegation from the Turks & Caicos Islands included Deputy Chairman Stefan Correy Forbes, Board Member John Hilton, Acting Director of Tourism Mary Lightbourne and Product Development Officer Candesha Mills.
The Turks and Caicos Islands is a member of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), the trade association representing the mutual interests between the cruise industry, destinations and stakeholders in the Caribbean and Latin America. FCCA hosts the annual conference and trade show which the Turks & Caicos Islands has participated in for several years. The conference offered participants a series of meetings, workshops, networking opportunities with high-level executives from FCCA Member Lines, which operate about 200 vessels and 95 percent of the global ocean cruising capacity.
Acting Director of Tourism Mary Lightbourne commented, “The cruise industry in the Turks and Caicos Islands continues to see impressive growth. It is important for the Tourist Board to attend cruise industry events such as FCCA. Cruise arrivals accounted for the majority of the visitor population in 2018, and showed an increase of 23% over the prior year which was the highest number of cruise passengers ever; with ships carrying an average capacity of 95%. In 2018 the Grand Turk Cruise Port welcomed 1,021,741 cruise passengers. One of the highlights of the conference was the workshop on Incident Response which covered best practices for responding to cruise related incidents and the importance of responding within the first twelve hours.
Our Turks and Caicos team benefited from several sessions including one which focused on the rise in luxury cruising. Our team will now strategize on how the Turks and Caicos Islands can position the destination to capitalize on this growing market. We held a number of meetings with key stakeholders including the AQUILA Center for Cruise Excellence and we explored opportunities for customer service training for cruise industry frontline employees. Additionally we met with the Director of FCCA and explored options for greater collaboration through enhanced membership opportunities. We were also excited for the opportunity to showcase the destination at the Trade Show”.
This year’s conference was attended by over 1,500 delegates comprised of Prime Ministers and Ministers responsible for Tourism, Directors of Tourism, Destination Representatives, Tour Companies, Marketing and Promotional Companies and executives from various major cruise lines.
Photo Captions:
Header: Deputy Chairman of the TCI Tourist Board Stefan Correy Forbes, Acting Director of Tourism Mary Lightbourne, Board Member John Hilton and executives of AQUILA Center for Cruise Excellence at the 26th Annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show in San Juan, Puerto Rico
1st insert: Acting Director of Tourism Mary Lightbourne at the 26th Annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show in San Juan, Puerto Rico
2nd insert: Product Development Officer Candesha Mills, Board Member John Hilton and Acting Director of Tourism Mary Lightbourne, Board Member John Hilton at the 26th Annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show in San Juan, Puerto Rico
TCIG knew from April that fuel factor could surge almost 80%; Minister says $500 cost-of-living payment was part of Government’s response
PROVIDENCIALES — The Turks and Caicos Government knew months before July’s shocking electricity bills that consumers faced a potentially massive increase in the fuel factor.
Minister of Information Technology and Energy E. Jay Saunders revealed Friday that Pelican Energy warned his Ministry in April that generation fuel costs were projected to rise from $3.09 per gallon in May to $4.79 in June and July.
That translated into a projected fuel factor jump from about 17.5 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt-hour — an increase of almost 80%.
Saunders said he personally advised Cabinet of the projected increase and presented options for cushioning the impact.
He characterised Government’s $500 cost-of-living payment as its “initial response” to rising fuel costs, before a separate fuel-factor subsidy was approved.
Cabinet records show Government agreed on June 24 to provide funding to mitigate the fuel-factor impact, with the relief programme approved July 8.
Eligible residential customers — those averaging less than $1,500 monthly over the previous three bills — are capped at 22 cents per kWh from July through October.
Pelican confirmed Friday that Government’s contribution was already applied to July bills, meaning the bills now triggering widespread public outrage would have been even higher without the subsidy.
Saunders did not disclose the programme’s total cost.
His admission that Government knew since April, however, raises another question amid the backlash: why were consumers not directly warned by Government about the scale of the approaching increase?
PROVIDENCIALES — New commercial Crown Land applications are facing a six-month pause as the Turks and Caicos Islands Government takes inventory of its holdings.
During Cabinet meetings held July 15 and 16, an immediate six-month moratorium was approved on the acceptance, processing
and approval of new applications for commercial Crown Land grants, leases and allocations.
The pause will remain in place pending completion of the Crown Land Inventory Review. Cabinet’s summary did not state what prompted the review or indicate whether availability of commercial Crown Land is a concern.
The two-day meeting also advanced major consumer legislation. Cabinet approved the National Fair Competition Policy 2026 and drafting instructions for a Fair Competition Ordinance, moving TCI toward stronger consumer protection and fair competition rules.
In Grand Turk, Cabinet approved rezoning land in the North West Suburbs from low-density to medium-density residential use to facilitate a new apartment development.
Cabinet also advanced fisheries reforms, water legislation allowing private and public-private investment, minerals legislation and appointments across tourism, health and finance.
Progress toward establishing a TCI Credit Union was also noted.
PROVIDENCIALES — Major development projects outside Providenciales received Cabinet attention on July 8, with Government approving agreements connected to the redevelopment of Dellis Cay and a resort development in North Caicos.
Cabinet approved a Development Agreement between the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, Desarrollos Hotelco DC Ltd. and
Desarrollos Hotelco Astoria Ltd. for the redevelopment of Dellis Cay.
The long-discussed private island development sits between Providenciales and North Caicos and its return to Cabinet signals another step toward redevelopment.
Cabinet also approved amendments to an agreement involving SPR LND Ltd. (Royal Reef) and TCIG Development Agreement for a resort/hotel development in North Caicos.
Other decisions included approval of the First Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2026 for onward transmission and the appointment of Cindy Ewing as Chair of the Invest TCI Board, effective August 1 for three years.
Cabinet also noted consultation outcomes concerning changes to business licensing, approved professional membership expenses for qualifying Telecommunications Commission staff and approved advice relating to the Interim Clinical and Estates Services PPP.
The July 8 meeting was chaired by Acting Governor Anya Williams.
Photo Credit: Royal Reef (Keith)
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