#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – August 10, 2020 – Given the unprecedented situation the world currently faces amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many hotels internationally and domestically have experienced a severe decrease in occupancy as COVID-19 has caused a major disruption for countless travelers.
The virus has also forced numerous countries, including the Turks and Caicos Islands, to implement drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus. As a result of the pandemic, the Turks and Caicos Government implemented its travel authorization policy requiring proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test at least 5 days prior to arrival as well as travel insurance.
This has adversely impacted travel and transient accommodation. Either through cancelations of flight, inability to access testing within the specified time frame, prohibitive costing of a travel package and with respect to Canadian travelers, the unwillingness to quarantine for 14 days post return to their country, demand is severely down.
A desire to have staff return to work fulltime and the need to stem financial losses led to our decision to re-open The Alexandra Resort immediately upon the reopening of the borders. Unfortunately, in the two weeks since re-opening, it became clear that the bookings necessary to maintain operations have not materialized. We therefore took the difficult decision to temporarily close once again, lay off staff and place others on reduced hours.
We know that our team members who have just returned to work are understandably disheartened having to face another period of either lay off or reduced hours. We wish to assure them that we value their commitment and hard work and have kept their individual and collective viability at the forefront of all of our decisions. We understand that when we reopen, it is only with their assistance that we will be able to provide our guests with a Turks and Caicos Experience like only the Turks and Caicos Collection can.
The events of the past few months have also forced us to take a closer look at the structure of our operations. In order to secure our long term viability in what we expect will be uncertain and challenging times, we have had to take the equally difficult decision, in making some positions redundant. In every case, we have ensured that those affected by the redundancy exercise received their full statutory entitlements.
We wish to thank everyone who has contributed to our success thus far.
Though we will not now announce a reopening date, due to the fluidity of the situation, we will continue to monitor demand over the upcoming months and we are confident that when we reopen, we will do so stronger and more resilient than ever.
Media statement
