TCI News
TCI now with four COVID-19 patients; first two cases infected contacts
#TurksandCaicosIslands – March 28, 2020 — Contact tracing of Turks and Caicos first two cases of COVID-19 results in an increase of positives of coronavirus for the UK overseas territory; the TCI now has four infected individuals.
“We still don’t have any confirmed deaths but we now have four, rather than two, confirmed cases. We learned that yesterday evening,” said Nigel Dakin, Turks and Caicos Islands Governor in a national update on radio this morning.
“You know this virus spreads, it spreads from person to person. The more you follow the laws, but also the spirit in which the laws are drafted, the safer you will be and the safer your immediate family will be. And in these islands, if family can stay safe, society can stay safe.”
The Turks and Caicos, since 5 a.m., has been in a 24-hour national lock down.
The ‘stay at home order,’ was on Monday March 23, passed with a batch of other temporary regulations in the House of Assembly, which give the governor Emergency Powers.
The most drastic of the measures prohibits the free movement of residents for 21 days, unless to access essential services. Add to the full lock down, is a nightly curfew.
“For clarity, what we mean by this is that each night, from 8pm to 5am, the rules that you have followed over the last two nights apply. Be at home. Only those essential front line services – involved in direct work during the hours of curfew – or those involved in preparing our supermarkets – may be on the roads,” explained Governor Dakin.
There were several arrests and vehicle confiscations from night one of the curfew, which is being enforced by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police.
“The police have to use their judgement and will. Don’t expect to be able to say you are going to get ‘gas’ when you have anything other than close to an empty tank. I say this for the 1% who we know will not follow any guidelines and will just be permanently selfish, looking to stretch the rules to suit themselves.”
His Excellency reminded that senior citizens, disabled persons and essential workers are in a special category; able to access grocery stores between 6am and 8am. The 24-hour lock down remains in place in the Turks and Caicos Islands until April 14, 2020.
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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