TCI News
Undecided procedures for TCI Education; COVID-19 Guidelines still in draft
#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos – August 12, 2020 — A mere 19 days before schools across the Turks and Caicos Islands reopen and the specific path to how teaching will happen in the new academic year in this COVID-19 era remains undecided.
“We have in the past weeks put together several documents which we will make available to you (and to other media houses); the documents were presented to cabinet and Cabinet gave us approval to go ahead and to do further consultations and that is the process we are in now; we will have that finalized by the end of this week and then we will know exactly the way forward,” said Karen Malcolm, Minister of Education.
The Minister, joined by Sharlene Robinson, Premier; Wesley Clerveaux, Permanent Secretary of Education and Edgar Howell, the Director of Education, today hosted a Media Q&A session at the Office of the Premier in Providenciales.
A set of press conferences did little to quell concerns about the method of return to the classroom, which remains undecided despite a national opening of schools announced for Monday, August 31.
Premier Sharlene Robinson said this is the usual time of year for Education to communicate on school reopening. Premier Robinson did not agree that the timing of the report was late.
“I think closer to school opening and when the situation is there…” she questioned, “…vocal in the summer months, just to say I am being vocal? Because the options are there, we knew what the options were going to be. But the consultation, the official consultation would have been lost months out. Would have been lost months out, that’s the truth and if we want to be honest, we would say that. So to consult in June for what will happen in September?”
The Premier continued that the pandemic itself presents a fluidity which makes concrete planning a challenge.
“You’re responding to something fluid. So today cabinet makes that decision, something drastic happens, we have to reverse that decision or we have to build on that decision. I know we are anxious, I am not going to at all dismiss it…. We (the Government) get the anxiety but I want us to be fair in our approach. I want us to be fair, because the options are limited, the options were discussed in March.”
Those options are online or education face-to-face.
The draft guidelines have suggested a combination of both learning styles.
Residents charge the Ministry of Education with wasting the five months of down time and are disappointed that a plan for classroom learning and campus life remains in limbo.
Education Minister Karen Malcolm said time was not lost; that work was being done behind the scenes.
“We have been working on protocols all during the summer. The Ministry of Education has put protocols in place as it relates to e-learning, as it relates to the opening of schools where by face to face or blending. Blending I n that some students are in school or some students are at home. But we want to ensure that the risk, we know that the risk is there and we want to do our best, as the Ministry of Education to ensure that our children are safe,” explained Minister Malcolm earlier today.
Schools, on Monday, received the 18-page draft ‘Guidelines and Protocols for Returning to Schools’ and are expected to log their feedback by Thursday (August 13).
Zoom Meetings are also planned for the private schools on Thursday.
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.
-
TCI News7 days agoExperience Turks and Caicos and Aquila Host Product Development Workshops to Strengthen Sister Islands Tourism
-
News5 days agoThe Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
-
Bahamas News2 days agoTens of Millions Announced – Where is the Development?
-
News4 days agoStrong December Performance Signals Continued Demand for the Turks and Caicos Islands
-
News6 days agoMulti-Agency Planning Enforcement Operation Conducted at multiple locations in Providenciales
-
Bahamas News20 hours agoGroundbreaking for Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre
-
Caribbean News5 days agoMottley Sworn in After Historic Clean Sweep in Barbados Election
-
Health19 hours agoWhat to Look for with Self-Checks at Home