News
“Listen to the people… We are speaking”
#TurksandCaicos, October 26, 2021 – I have spent the past week listening, observing and discussing with the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, about the proposal of the PNP Government to transition from the TCI Tourist Board to a Destination Management Organization (DMO) and a Tourism Authority.
In reading the statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism and in tuning into the press conference held by the Premier to address the discontent amongst residents about the changes, I have a lot of concern about the manner and timing of such an important decision being made with no justified reason, no ingenious alterative being introduce and no democratic support for his intention.
Without any educational campaign or public meeting to deal with such a huge and long standing change to our indigenous and trusted Tourism Board, the PNP has already closed up their offices abroad. But why were the people of Turks and Caicos not made aware and consulted prior to these changes?
We have a right to understand what the changes mean first, and the public should be given the opportunity to express any concerns before such a major plan is rolled out as final. Consultation is not when you have already made up your mind and presented your ideas to a small audience without getting your public on board. Why were we left out of such an important dialogue? And if we were not invited to the table before it started, how can we believe we will be welcomed there once it is in place?
I am all for progress and promotion of our country, and while the Premier can say that he promoted a Destination Management Organization in his plans to the country, he did not take the time to respectfully tell us that he was planning to shut down the Tourist Board in order to bring about these changes.
Why this surprise approach? Why campaign to give the impression that added support was coming to the body that has led an extremely successful tourism sector for years, when in fact you were planning to dismantle it?
To dismantle the work of the TCI Tourist Board, which has won awards and led the country to many bright moments since it was created, without so much as a proper breakdown of what we are transitioning to is undemocratic and this action needs to be put on pause or stopped.
I support any idea or concept which I believe will bring value to the lives of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. But I cannot support this rushed concept which I believe is a risky gamble with our leading industry. I cannot support the way this idea was introduced to us. I cannot support the lack of transparency and I do not support the seeming view that the TCI Tourist Board is not good enough.
We have enjoyed amazing growth in the tourism sector in the Turks and Caicos Islands and leading that prosperity was the TCI Tourist Board. You have made that admission as well, so if, from your office, you can see what is wrong then I challenge you to fix it, not to break down what we have because the TCI Tourist Board is not broken.
I believe this organization can be re-tooled, better funded, its ordinance updated and its duties broadened.
We know what we have in the TCI Tourist Board, we do not know if the DMO model will work for our country.
I would like to thank the people, who have over the years, staff this organization for an outstanding job of dedication, creativity and patriotism, and all with scarce resources. We can see the worth of the work you have put in over the years.
Honorable Premier, I ask you to slow down this transition.
Give the people who put you in a real opportunity to hear you out on these new changes, but more importantly, give yourself a real opportunity to hear us.
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, April 19, 2024 – In an attempt to move to 24-hour-a-day operations Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is steadily recruiting Air Traffic Controllers to work at the Providenciales/Howard Hamilton International Airport, according to Godfrey Smith, TCIAA CEO, reporting to the Appropriations Committee.
Speaking on April 8th Smith said a cabinet paper would be sent soon requesting six more Air Traffic Controllers to make round the clock operation at the Provo International possible and to open the airport in Grand Turk till 12 a.m.
Currently, 17 posts are filled and seven are vacant.
Smith was candid with his responses to recent industrial action from ATCs which led to resignations and firings.
“What we have to do is find systems to mitigate such actions and that has to start with filling these jobs, putting people in that want to
work and doing right by people – and we always try to do right by our staff. Persons may not think that we are but we always do – we ain’t pick no fight,” he said in the meetings held at the NJS Francis building ahead of the National Budget Communication.
Smith indicated that recruitment was an issue across the board, ‘we need to find ways to recruit a little bit better’ he told the committee. Also in need of a push was capital spending or projects according to the CEO, who said the agency had ‘not been very good’ at meeting that mark but insisted they had recognized the issue and could do better.
A very important key performance indicator drawn up by the TCIAA is increasing passenger satisfaction at the Howard Hamilton International Airport. For the TCIAA part of this means a 30 percent increase in seating by Q2 of this year.
When queried on if they could even handle this increase the CEO said,
“The fact of the matter is we already have the capacity there. What we need is to make the service a bit better.”
Staff shortages have become such a frustrating issue that the TCIAA is instituting a scholarship program created by Authority Chairman, Selvyn Hawkins
“What the board wants to do is basically allocate $25,000 annually for a scholarship and they’ve approved it already.”
This process would cover tuition and all other costs for one student.
The student would return as a summer intern and other breaks to work at the TCIAA and upon graduation, assume a role at the company.
“We identify a particular skill we need, we go after it and we build capacity that is in a nutshell the nexus of the program,” Smith said.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is allocated $49 million this financial year; over $20 million goes to salaries.
Company delivers fastest speeds nationwide and boosts service reliability
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS, APRIL 19th, 2024 – More connections, faster speeds and greater support for customers. This is the promise from communications and entertainment provider, Flow TCI, as it embarks on an initiative to provide households with enhanced connections, greater overall reliability and now, for the first time, speeds up to one gigabit person second.
FLOW TCI Country Manager, Joanne Missick shared: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We listen to our customers and want to exceed their demands, so we are focused on delivering unmatched value with customer centric products and services that are future proof. Flow subscribers on our Fibre Extreme package can now access up to one gigabyte speeds and subscribers on our Fibre Plus and Fibre Max package, as of April 1st, are also now benefitting from up to 5x more speeds.”
This is third speed boost for Flow customers in the last two years. This comes under the umbrella of the the Company’s recently launched “Working for You” campaign, where technicians are going into the neighborhoods across the island to conduct repairs, decommission copper cables, and increase the brand’s visibility in local communities.
“To date several neighborhoods have been served by technicians and the company will continue to go across the islands to ensure each neighborhood receives personal attention. We recognize that over the past few months some customers have experienced issues with the quality and delivery of our services. This is not what we stand for. Flow remains committed to providing technology and innovation
that enables growth and positively impacts lives”, says, newly appointed Head of Technical Operations, Simeon Thomas.
Thomas adds, “We have been closely monitoring and reviewing every aspect of our network and there is room for improvement across each of the islands. Where we find shortcomings, we are taking concrete actions and assigning our technicians to rapidly make all necessary adjustments and improvements for our customers”.
Flow has made significant investments in expanding and modernizing its infrastructure and delivering a more robust and reliable network paving the way for the country’s digital transformation.
For more information on speed increases visit https://www2.discoverflow.co/turks-and-caicos/price-adjustment-speed-increase on our website.
Thank you for your usual assistance in sharing our stories.
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