TCI News
Baker Tilly International welcomes leading tourism data and analytics specialists in the Turks and Caicos Islands
#TurksandCaicosIslands – November 5, 2020 — Baker Tilly International has announced that Baker Tilly Turks and Caicos Islands joined the network on 1 November 2020. The Turks and Caicos firm was trading as KPMG Turks and Caicos Islands until exiting the KPMG network on 31 October 2020.
Baker Tilly Turks and Caicos Islands will continue to provide audit, advisory and tax services to a wide variety of public and private sector entities and is a market leader in tourism data and analytics. Led by Gary Brough who has over 30 years’ experience working within the tourism, leisure and travel industry (TLT), the firm has extensive relationships in the sector throughout the Caribbean, the world’s most tourism dependent region. Gary was the lead partner advising the Turks and Caicos Islands Government on its current National Tourism Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan. Data and analytics is emerging as the most underutilised and powerful tool in providing actionable insights to governments and businesses in the travel and tourism space.
Used correctly, data and analytics can identify previously unseen competitive advantages through the enhanced application of data driven decisions. Forecasting the future is no easy task, especially in the TLT sector which has proven particularly vulnerable to the Coronavirus pandemic and where factors such as consumer confidence, the economy and geopolitics heavily impact the direction and ultimate profitability of the sector.
The Turks and Caicos Islands firm has extensive experience of delivering strategic, clear and actionable insights for its clients. Gary Brough, Managing Director in the Turks and Caicos Islands said: “The global leadership of Baker Tilly International engaged with us from the very outset of our discussions which created a great first impression. Neil French, our Head of Audit, and I both found our conversations with the senior executives of Baker Tilly International to be very refreshing. They share our belief and optimism in the future of the Turks and Caicos Islands, which is of critical importance to us, and they have introduced us to resources within their network that led us to conclude they represent our best opportunity to fully realize the potential of some of the initiatives we are working on most notably our tourism data and analytics initiative.”
“We’re proud of the deep data analytics and digital expertise we bring to our clients through our global network,” Ollie East, Advanced Analytics and Data Engineering Director for Baker Tilly US, said.
“We have a variety of experience using multiple technologies and analytical techniques across many industry sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, and finance and insurance. The Turks and Caicos Islands team’s specialization in the tourism sector is a strong complement to those offerings.”
Speaking on the development, Ted Verkade, Baker Tilly network CEO, shared Gary’s optimism for the region: “The Turks and Caicos Islands are a vibrant part of the Caribbean region and I am delighted to welcome Gary, Neil and their team to our network. Following the devastating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, now – more than ever – businesses operating in this sector need to feel confident that they have data and analytics they can trust to be able to understand and manage risks, and to make the right decision now, to rebuild and shape their tomorrows.
What separates the Turks and Caicos Islands team from others is their deep knowledge of travel and tourism, which converts data and analytics to information that matters. I am excited to bring the team’s industry knowledge and leading analytics expertise into our global network as we help clients with scenario planning and predictive modelling as we build a bolder tomorrow.”
Baker Tilly International is a rapidly growing global accountancy and business advisory network represented by independent member firms in 146 countries with combined fee income of US$3.9 billion and more than 36,000 people worldwide.
KPMG TCI Press Release
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.
