TCI News
Beaches Resort reacts to Premier; open to dialogue and points to multi-million dollar marketing for TCI tourism
Beaches Resort Turks and Caicos Villages & Spa Statement issued July 28
#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – July 29, 2020 — As the conversation continues on finding solutions to the new normal that has been brought about by the COVID 19 pandemic, Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Villages and Spa is committed to working with all stakeholders in an effort to try to restart the country’s tourism sector.
On Monday, in response to questions from journalists, Premier the Hon. Sharlene Cartwright Robinson acknowledged that the government had not yet had any conversation with Beaches Turks and Caicos on the current plight.
We wish to assure the people of the TCI that we are always available to discuss this unprecedented situation that the Caribbean and the entire world are now faced with. Notwithstanding that, Beaches is forging ahead with our reopening plans.
Let us be clear, there is no magic wand that is going to make this better overnight. This will require many millions of dollars in marketing, extensive coordination with vast numbers of travel agents, tour operators and airline partners throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, the U.K. and Europe, along with robust training of team members on the ground, all of which can only be achieved through experience, hard work and an excellent reputation.
We fully recognize that Beaches is the anchor resort of the TCI, as was pointed out just days ago by fellow hotelier Armando Pizzuti of the Turks and Caicos Collection who lamented what the closure of Beaches until October 14th would mean for the destination in the interim.
It is our recognition of this, and our resolve to do all we can to support the economy and livelihoods of the people of the TCI, which prompted us to take the decision more than two decades ago to remain open 12 months a year in spite of the seasonal nature of travel, and it is with huge pride that we have faithfully done so barring unforeseen circumstances such as hurricanes.
Over the past 20 years we have only closed no more than seven times, most as a direct result of hurricanes such as Hanna, Irene, Irma and Maria and now because of a pandemic. In fact we moved heaven and earth to have the resort reopened after the devastation of Hurricane Irma, and it took the mobilization of our resources from throughout the Caribbean to get the job done in 99 days – an effort the Premier considered her Christmas present at the time.
Only twice were we affected by slow traffic, and on those two rare occasions the anticipated fallout prompted the government at the time to offer a small contribution to the significant global marketing costs that were required to remain open.
However Beaches does not and has never wanted to be a burden on the people of the TCI, and we have committed to marketing and promoting the TCI for the most part on our own. In fact a number of hoteliers including the TCI Tourism Board have commented that the level of advertising we do is very important to the Turks and Caicos, especially since they have extremely low budgets.
As we have said before, the people of the TCI can count on us continuing to be a strong and solid partner. We have identified what we feel is the most realistic date for reopening, we are open to dialogue with all stakeholders in the interim, and we are putting every effort into a bringing back the airlift that is the very lifeline of the tourism sector.
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
February 7, 2023 – A global battle on sugar and salt is ramping up as the United States joins The Bahamas and Barbados in creating proposals for historic sugar and salt laws.
The country’s Agricultural Department for the first time in history, proposed a cap on the amount of sugar to be allowed in school meals.
The World Health Organization has found that North America and the Caribbean have the highest rates of childhood diabetes in the world and based on the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas we also have the second
highest prevalence of Diabetes overall for all global regions at 14 percent or 51 million people with a projected 24 percent increase in just 22 years.
Barbados, the United States, Canada, Haiti, Mexico, Belize and St. Kitts and Nevis are all suffering from incredibly high rates of diabetes.
Barbados and The Bahamas announced sugar taxes last month; the hope is to reduce the importation and sale of sugar and salt rich foods.
Advocates across the Caribbean including Jamaica, Trinidad, and others have been campaigning for sugar taxes in their own countries with support from the public.
Now the proposed nutritional rules for the United States would set firm boundaries on how much salt and sugar can legally be added to meals, setting a new standard as most food imports for countries like The Bahamas are from the US.
The plan for the US is expected to be rolled out by 2025.
The rules, are unapologetically an attempt to cut down incidences of diabetes and other diseases fueled by unhealthy diets, according to media reports.
For now, the quantities on sugar and salt additives is an idea waiting wider consultation.
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, February 7, 2023 – An office space has already been identified for an all-new TCI Immigration office in The Bahamas according to Arlington Musgrove, Minister of Immigration and Border Services.
Musgrove told Magnetic Media that the ministry was “almost there” in regard to securing the space; it indicates the
Government is moving full speed ahead with plans for the passing of the new Immigration Bill which will allow third-generation TC Islanders citizenship, even as the public awaits consultations on it.
The announcement of the bill had caused some skepticism among islanders, some of whom wanted the government to focus on keeping TC Islanders at home instead of recruiting others. Musgrove however had made it clear that the TCI was in a population crisis and would need to slow down PRC naturalisation rates and naturalise people with historical, familial and cultural connections to the land or risk going ‘extinct’.
The office will work to deepen the relationship between the two sister countries even more and help increase the TCI’s population offsetting the need for masses of external labour according to the government.
When passed, the rule will apply to third-generation islanders everywhere, not only in The Bahamas giving them a free ticket to come home.
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, February 7, 2023 – The Shore Club is the perfect place to escape the cold with your family according to well-known travel magazine, Travel + Leisure at least. The Turks and Caicos resort was featured in the
worldwide magazine’s January feature last month.
“It’s hard to overstate the grandness of our accommodations,” travel writer Hannah Selinger gushed as she described the luxurious Shore Club experience that retails for around $750 per night.
The resort owned by Stan Hartling, 2021 TCI Humanitarian of the Year, was lauded for its use of local materials including coral harvested in Long Bay on which the property resides. The writer was particularly impressed with the expansive space and multiple amenities at the resort which even when significantly booked “never feels even remotely full”.
She described the food and the entirety of her experience as ‘extremely satisfying’.
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