Sustainability of tourism in TCI, do we have the zeal to preserve it?

#TurksandCaicos, May 2, 2023 – In a true sense of the word, sustainable tourism is one that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host.

As a country, we have come a long way and can proudly boast that we are the envy of the Caribbean in terms of desirability but, is it sustainable?

Prior to the pandemic, there were public concerns that tourism in the Turks and Caicos was growing faster than our ability to cope. With a significant decline in this area during the COVID-19 pandemic, it gave leaders a moment to pause and reflect on how dependant we are on the tourism dollars, and to question whether or not we are truly a good host.

Without a coordinated response, we risk being unable to fully capture the true potential of tourism and protect the long-term sustainability of this vibrant but fragile industry.

As we press forward and look beyond the post-pandemic era, we should be asking ourselves, what can we do differently to save our most valuable product which is ecotourism?

It’s crucial that everyone take the depletion of our natural resources seriously and do everything within our power to protect and sustain our natural environment.

Turks and Caicos is now at a crossroad where the Bahamas and Jamaica once were, in terms of growth and development. Where we go from here will determine the long term future of our country. So how do we continue to thrive and nurture what we have?

If our government is truly serious about saving our ecotourism industry, it must start with saving our coral reefs, our pristine beaches and wet lands. In today’s fractured and fragmented world and tourism being so delicate, these are the areas that must be protected at all cost.

Red flags are being raised all over, particularly in areas such as, damaged and depletion of our coral reefs, crumbling infrastructure etc. In all honesty, we must ask ourselves are these areas getting our full and undivided attention that is needed?

Department of Environmental and Costal Resources(DECR) and Maritime departments, will need to be given an attenuated role with managing national parks and more autonomy to operate.

Our coral reefs and mangroves are a critical part of our natural environment, providing some of the best ecotourism services in the Caribbean if not in the world.

With our low lying landscape, It also helps to mitigate the effects of flooding by slowing the speed and distribution of storm water, and reducing beach erosion. Therefore, we should be doing everything within our means to protect them.

Access to the needed resources for enforcement in these particular areas has long been a challenge. Basic needs such as, channel markers, proper reef moorings that boat operators are paying for, a Maritime vessel, are all areas of dire need particularly in Grand Turk.

It should all begin and end with forging a strong partnership, collaboration and trust between the public and private sectors.

What is of paramount importance is, bridging that gap and aligning the aforementioned departments with local Water Sports organizations and the Turks and Caicos Reef project.

I believe the end goal could very well be achieved merely through training and education of tour operators, both on land and at sea.

With close oversight and support, these private organizations could play a vital role in helping to protect and preserve a sustainable ecotourism in our country. It also makes a powerful argument for greater self-sufficiency.

What we have seen over the years is, the departments might have had the best intentions or strategies to help save our environment, but in my opinion, lacked the resources and limited grit to execute on the initiatives.

Case in point: On any given day when the cruise ships are in, we have anywhere from 3500 to 4000 passengers embarking on our shores in Grand Turk.

An overwhelming majority of these sunbathers remain right on our pristine beaches.

The country on a whole has been somewhat actively complicit with providing available public restroom facilities, direct beach access for emergency vehicles and at the end of the day, the beaches are left littered with garbage, with no assigned government workers to assist with clean up.

It’s also pretty evident across these islands, with the surmountable garbage collection during earth day and coastal cleanup day.

Is this what one would call protecting our most valued tourism product? Nevertheless, it’s never to late we just have to remain hopeful. With cruising and tourism now resuming at full speed, it’s our opportunity to get it right this time.

With tourism being the primary economic engine of growth for our country, we are in an acute position and cannot continue to ignore these critical areas, or play politics while ignoring the need for a total facelift of the nation’s capital and other sister islands of concerns.

We must have a national conversation on saving our reefs with a unified effort, and we must move fast and decisively. Failure to address these critical improvements would only exacerbate issues and in the long term put the country in a more vulnerable position.

We can no longer be shortsighted when it comes to the future of our country. With that being said, more focus should be on yield per visitor and return rate rather than just the sheer number of visitors to our Islands.

If there’s one lesson that can be derived from the recent pandemic, is the importance of protecting what we have control over.

Many residents are still cynical about the change in strategy with the tourist board transitioning to a destination management organization(DMO). Whilst this may expand our horizon, it is still our story, our passion and we must build upon the successes, stay the course and not just ride the waves.

Therefore, in order to protect and sustain what we have left to call our own, ecological restoration will have to become front and center. This should also include revitalization and exposure of our dormant and forgotten culture.

I’m of the opinion, the islands will benefit tremendously by getting more dollars from less people and attracting the right investors. Any development or revitalization plan going forward must include the aforementioned, as the common future of our country depends on it.

Ed Forbes,

Concerned Citizen of Grand Turk