#TurksandCaicos, August 18, 2023 – Preparations for the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s much-anticipated State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) are well underway, with the program set to take place at The Shore Club Turks & Caicos on Providenciales from October 9-13, 2023.

CTO’s business meetings and destination media briefings will precede the official conference program, which features panel discussions spanning diverse themes – from tourism investment and financing to aviation competitiveness and the burgeoning film industry.  CTO’s popular Caribbean Youth Congress also makes its return this year.

Neil Walters, CTO’s Acting Secretary General, anticipates a plethora of meaningful discussions and industry networking to unfold in Turks and Caicos.  “SOTIC has traditionally been the CTO’s flagship event held in the Caribbean, and with its return this year under the leadership of our newly appointed Secretary General Dona Regis-Prosper, we are confident the forum will set the stage for sharpening our industry’s collective vision to become even stronger and more effective in positioning the Caribbean as the world’s leading destination for leisure as well as business travel.”

Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism for the Turks and Caicos Islands, shared her pride in hosting the return of SOTIC after a hiatus of five years, stating, “The selection of Turks and Caicos reflects our dedication to hospitality and excellence.  As the first major event being held under our new destination marketing and management organization, SOTIC is a significant opportunity for us to collectively shape the narrative of our region’s growth in a post-COVID environment.”

“As Minister of Tourism and Vice Chair of the group of British Overseas countries and territories within the Caribbean Tourism Organization, your presence at SOTIC 2023 holds immense importance,” said Minister Connolly, as she extended a heartfelt invitation to delegates.

Minister Connolly looks forward to showcasing the captivating beauty of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Territory’s dedication to sustainable tourism development.  She underscored the potent impact of coordinated action and regional collaboration that conveys a strong message of unity to stakeholders within and beyond the region’s borders.

By Dana Malcolm

Staff writer

#TurksandCaicos, May 2, 2023 – Another edition of the government’s mentorship program “The Lady in Me” was held this week. This time young ladies in Providenciales were the ones being treated. The program targets at-risk adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 years old.

Photos of the beautiful setup shared with our news team show branded gifts waiting for the girls as they spent the two-day event sponsored by UNICEF focusing on how to cultivate healthy physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being.

Students from various schools arrived in uniforms immaculately pressed for the event put on by the Department of Social Services.

Acting Governor Anya Williams was in attendance and expressed faith that the initiative would cause true change.

“It was a pleasure to share with them my insight into the importance of making the right decisions in their youth, which will help to shape their futures and why they should see and value themselves as their greatest asset and to hear from them their goals, aspirations and the challenges that are currently being experienced by our younger generations,” she said.

In introducing the program the Government had said it was aiming to help participants: “examine the adolescence values, competencies, belief systems, inner feelings, motivations, critical thinking, and communication skills,” in order to “build their self-awareness and interpersonal relationships to strengthen their self-esteem— to create a sense of pride and enhance self-respect, self-worth, and self-esteem as they mature and improve personally and professionally.”

The Department said the event was expected to impact 100 girls.

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TheBahamas, March 27, 2023 – Situated on a Cay of its own, the LJM Maritime Academy (LJMMA) is the Bahamas’ only school of its kind and with sponsorships from Campbell Shipping, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Carnival Cruises, Disney Cruises, and more it boasts an extremely well-equipped campus. The Turks and Caicos Community College (TCICC) is now partnering with the LJMMA to bring those amenities to TCI students through TCICC.

Brendamae Cleare, President of the institution, joined in on a maritime stakeholder meeting introducing the partnership to the Turks and Caicos’ residents on Tuesday, March 21, detailing everything that the LJMMA had to offer.

“We have– classrooms, workshops, a bridge simulator room, a crane simulator, an engine simulator and we also have a GMDSS simulator and radar simulator as well,” she explained.

The simulator building was commissioned to the tune of $30 million and is only in phase one. Also included alongside the fancy simulators, which give students hands-on experience with the boat engines and cranes that they will work with in the future, there are temporary administrative offices, libraries, nurse’s stations and more.

Other buildings on the Cay include, a firefighting simulator and the school even has lifeboat simulators, which mimic what it would be like pushing the lifeboat off the side of a huge vessel and maneuvering it in the ocean.

The Maritime Academy was birthed in 2011 when executives at Campbell Shipping including Lowell J. Mortimer (which is the only Bahamian-owned shipping company Cleare says), realized that there were no Bahamians working on their ships and were determined to change that.

“We had the college of the Bahamas, which is now the University of the Bahamas. We had a technical and vocational institution. We had banking and tourism colleges, but nothing like maritime but [we said] why not maritime?”

And the LJMMA so was born, named after its founder Mortimer. In its first year, it fielded over 180 applications and accepted just over 40 students. It is semi-regimented, which means strict rules for students, just as they would have to abide by on vessels.

The institution is accredited by the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of the Bahamas, the Bahamas Maritime Authority, the Institute of Materials, Minerals, Mining and others.

Cleare said the vision of the school was to become a globally recognized institution of excellence, in maritime education and training.