Burgers, Peacocks & Surpluses

By Deandrea Hamilton

Editor

#TurksandCaicos, May 11, 2022 – Yesterday, I was seated in a room of thirty travel agents, one of the companies is among the top five in the world for vacation bookings, and it was a rousing reminder that these are the individuals who are making direct contact with the 1.5 million (plus) travellers who are choosing Turks and Caicos for their Caribbean holidays.

The men and women who sensibly lapped up the loving attention from Team Beaches Resort, were being personally thanked by Gary Sadler, 37-year executive and Vice President of Unique Vacations, a subsidiary of Sandals Resorts International.  It was Global Travel Advisor Day and it meant much to be in the room during a season when travel and tourism have roared back to life following a life-sucking pandemic period.

The individuals, I learned are directly responsible for keeping Beaches Resort Villages & Spa, which accounts for over 70 per cent of long stay visitors to the British overseas territory at well over 90 per cent full for at least the past ten weeks.

It again hit me in the gut; essentially the undeniable popularity of the Turks and Caicos Islands has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the people that want to come, the people who book their holidays and the people who work at the properties where these guests stay and play.

It’s a people thing.

In my 14 years here as a working journalist, I have not yet met a Travel Agent who told me that when a guest sought them out for a Turks and Caicos Islands vacation, they enquired on whether the Progressive National Party or the People’s Democratic Movement were in governing power.

Instead, it’s what they’ve seen on social or traditional media, you know those jaw dropping vistas fabulously framed by luxury resorts; hues of blues and turquoise in our dynamic slice of the Atlantic Ocean and the pristine wonders endemic to the Turks and Caicos which have lured them here.  For most islanders, that remarkable beauty is attributed to no political party, it is a credit laid solely at the feet of a very good, masterfully creative heavenly God.

Bottom line, no matter who was the vote leader in the February 2021 General Election, this tourism revival would have belonged to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Underpinning my observation as a point of fact and not of fiction is the ongoing National Budget Debate.  The general public is subject to a concerning and revealing peacock parade in the House of Assembly.

On the one side, there is the elected government administration – the PNP – which is happily patting itself on the back for the economic buoyancy in the Turks and Caicos.  Sharing a lot of strides it counts as its own, but which are largely linked to foreign owned companies, professionals or interests in tourism and real estate – who do their own marketing and managing.

On the other side, there is the elected opposition which is happily unimpressed by the fiscal plan laid in parliament; a plan it says remains out of synch with the souls of the people because the average person is still hard pressed to ‘feel’ the financial boom.

The twist? Both political sides are right.  If I had a $20 million dollar surplus and boosted the budget by $78 million dollars; I would brag my butt off too.

If I reviewed this Budget and noticed that savings were swelling while people were hurting and public sector pay increases and tax breaks were a mirage, I would also blast it to pieces.

So the country, at least the electorate is saddled with the reality that we could be simply flipping a burger.  So what happens when both sides are well done?

Do we eat and then… well you know.  Or do we keep flipping until the meat patty is so badly burned, that it is unfit for consumption?

Last year, when the former Sharlene-Robinson led administration was shown or at the very least appeared to be prepared to allow over $12M in stimulus money to go back to the piggy bank, the new Government cried shame and did swift work to more easily and equitably distribute the resources.  This year, the same PNP Government who cried foul had the audacity to announce that $20M would be returned to the piggy bank when life on the planet has never been so expensive and people are struggling.

Now, another banner year for tourism and real estate is predicted.  The country’s economic rating is poised for an upgrade and cash reserves will be healthy.  All refreshing, heartening news.

But can a political party take the credit for the robust economy?  And is there a political party truly prepared to ensure that there is no blockage when it comes to the overflow of prosperity?

Only time will tell.  But God knows, we’re on the third flip (since the end of UK Direct Rule) and I am tired of eating surpluses… ah, I mean; hamburgers.