Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, January 17, 2023 – The year 2023 was a big one for tourism in the Turks and Caicos Islands, with significant changes in the sector. The TCI Ministry of Tourism is now highlighting what it considers are its campaign promises delivered.
Included is the achievement of International COVID safety standards as the country was listed as an Alert Level 1 (the lowest) by the CDC. The ministry maintains that these standards drove the uptick in arrivals post-COVID.
The creation of the Tourism Regulatory Authority and Destination Marketing and Management Organization, plus settling border skirmishes with neighbors about where the country’s waters end. Also counted as credit is the creation of strict protocols to guide big projects for minimal harmful impact on the country’s cultural or environmental integrity; this project is ongoing with the Tourism Capacity Carrying Study.
Residents weren’t always on board with these decisions, and the ministry was under near-constant scrutiny from locals in 2023 regarding the extension of COVID-19 vaccination mandates, the dissolution of the TCI Tourist Board, and the creation of the DMMO. The latter was so contentious that it was challenged in a court of law.
Despite this, the ministry says it is only looking ahead.
In the next ten years, the Turks and Caicos is projected to nearly double its pre-pandemic visitor count to 3.1 million tourists per year and push revenue to $1.7 billion according to the Washington Misick Administration. That is, if TCIG can successfully continue to implement its eight-step plan to get the most return on tourist investment.
