What About Nathaniel Handfield DMMO Rumours?

By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, May 1, 2023 – The government left out one major rumour in their attempt to put all the miscommunication regarding the Tourist Board to rest at their recent press conference. This is the consensus from some TCI residents who say a decisive statement was needed to combat the now internationally shared reports of a new ‘private Tourist Board’.

The reports of a billionaire investor, Nathaniel Handfield pumping millions into an all new company ‘Best of Turks and Caicos Inc’ which claims it is aimed at marketing the Turks and Caicos, surfaced locally since mid-March.

The story, written by Handfield Enterprises, published on Accesswire and shared globally now by Yahoo News, quotes the mystery investor as creating the ‘first privately owned tourist board’ in the Turks and Caicos “...set to improve the country’s economy, and create a more profitable community for small businesses.” it goes on to say “With the leadership of Founder and CEO of Handfield Enterprises Inc., Nathaniel Handfield, they have put together a board of advisors consisting of 30 former senior government officials from the US, UK, and Caribbean.”

It then directly drags the government into the fray claiming Handfield is working along with them.

“The board’s advisors will work with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government to provide the necessary resources and support to help businesses succeed.”

It seems contrary to the government’s plans to partner with a purported private tourist board as they launch a major push to set up their own Destination Marketing and Management Organization. Residents say officials were given the chance to distance themselves from the rumours and clarify their position on whether the company was legitimately registered, but instead, they ignored the issue and the rumours continue to make the rounds.

The government had in fact addressed the rumours prior telling the TCI Sun they were “working diligently to investigate certain claims made by the company, Handfield Enterprises, and its associated website “Best of Turks and Caicos”, and will “take all necessary legal actions against those responsible.”

However, Monday’s heavily publicised national conference may have been the ideal opportunity to reiterate the commitment or give an update.

The article claims that this company has had a direct hand in the success of the TCI Tourism Industry but the story has more questions than answers, the information available on Hanfield is flimsy at best. The same goes for ‘Best of Turks and Caicos Inc.’

Magnetic Media’s own investigation into the widely shared news report on March 17 turned up nothing, including a bogus US address.

The mystery man claims to be a Grand Turk native but his digital footprint is almost nonexistent.

Additionally under questioning via social media sites several individuals have emerged as ‘friends’ of the said-millionaire attempting to legitimise him. The copyright footer on the website lists the year of creation as 2022 and posts on Instagram and Facebook go back only as far as 2021. It claims to connect tourists to local businesses directly for free and lists a host of TCI Businesses from charters to hotels and invites other entrepreneurs to list their local business on the site.

Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism has described the site as misleading.