News
EXPERIENCE TURKS AND CAICOS CELEBRATES SUCCESS AT CHTA CARIBBEAN TRAVEL MARKETPLACE 42
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS (May 27th, 2024) – Experience Turks and Caicos is hailing its recent participation at the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace 42 as a tremendous success.
Minister of Tourism, the Hon Josephine Connolly
Experience Turks and Caicos was a Destination Partner for the annual event which took place from May 21st to May 23rd at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Montego Bay, Jamaica this year.
The Turks and Caicos Islands delegation was led by Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Josephine Connolly, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Wesley Clerveaux, co-Chairman of Experience Turks and Caicos Mr. Alvin Hegner and CEO of the Turks and Caicos Hotels and Tourism Association (TCHTA), Mrs. Stacy Cox.
Experience Turks and Caicos stamped its presence with one of the largest pavilions in the Marketplace. The pavilion emphasised the multi-island destination, showcasing the beauty of the islands – South Caicos, Grand Turk, North and Middle Caicos, Salt Cay and Providenciales – with a backdrop designed by local graphics team Out of the Box Advertising. The pavilion was designed and built by Altruism Solutions Limited.
The pavilion drew a lot of attention and attracted many visitors including Jamaican Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett, Anguilla’s Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Hadyn Hughes and the Bahamian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Chester Cooper.
Over the course of two days, the Experience Turks and Caicos team, which also included Chief Marketing Officer Ms. Trina Adams and Public Relations Manager Laura Dowrich-Phillips, engaged in over 30 meetings with suppliers, media companies and airlines from all over the world eager to do business with the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Josephine Connolly expressed her satisfaction at the showing of Experience Turks and Caicos at Travel Marketplace.
“I am very proud of the work done by Experience Turks and Caicos to ensure the Turks and Caicos Islands was well-represented at the 42nd Caribbean Travel Marketplace. Together with several of our hotel partners, the destination had an impressive showing. Our beautiful pavilion stood out and was a clear signal that as the premier luxury destination in the Caribbean, we are investing heavily into marketing and promoting our destination to the benefit of all in the country,” she said.
Minister of Tourism, the Hon Josephine Connolly with Mr. Wesley Clerveaux, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Mr. Alvin Hegner, co-Chair of Experience Turks and Caicos
The Minister delivered the feature presentation for the Turks and Caicos Islands destination briefing before a cadre of media representing 50 international publications. In her presentation, Minister Connolly spoke about the destination’s record-breaking arrivals for the year and the impending introduction of new airlift into South Caicos and Grand Turk.
Mr. Alvin Hegner, co-Chair of Experience Turks and Caicos said with the DMMO fully functional, it was important to communicate to the travel community that the business of tourism in the Turks and Caicos is in capable hands.
“Our showing at Caribbean Travel Marketplace gave many a boost of confidence in our brand and we held meetings with several businesses in the tourism and travel space who are eager to partner with us as a result. The Turks and Caicos Islands continue to be the go-to destination for thousands of visitors and we are continuing to develop our product to ensure we deliver value for money,” he said.
The Turks and Caicos Islands representation was enhanced by the presence of our hotel partners – The Hartling Group, Sail Rock Resort, Salterra Resort and Spa, The Tides, Villa Del Mar, The Strand, Seven Seas Resort, Royal West Indies Resort and Ocean Club Resort.
The 42nd Caribbean Travel Marketplace is said to have had a record participation of 1200 delegates from 50 countries and saw 1,274 appointments scheduled.
Header Photo Caption: From left: Mr. Wesley Clerveaux, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Ms. Trina Adams, Chief Marketing Officer of Experience Turks and Caicos, Ms. Laura Dowrich, Public Relations Manager, Experience Turks and Caicos, the Honourable Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism, Ms. Stacy Cox, CEO of the Turks and Caicos Hotels and Tourism Association, and Mr. Alvin Hegner, co-Chairman of Experience Turks and Caicos
Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
News
The Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Wednesday, 11 February 2026: The Informal Settlements Unit (ISU) coordinated a multi-agency enforcement operation on Thursday, 29 January 2026, led by the Planning Department, with support from the Crown Land
Unit, the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force, and security provided by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. The operation, carried out at three different locations in Providenciales, formed part of ongoing government efforts to address unauthorised development and illegal occupation of land in accordance with governing legislation.
The operation commenced in Blue Hills, where five Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on unauthorised structures identified on Block and Parcel 60502/48.
Enforcement activity then moved to a second location off the Leeward Highway near Caicos Lodge, where six Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on additional unauthorised structures on Block and Parcel 60802/66.
The final phase of the operation took place in The Bight, where three unauthorised structures were removed, with all debris cleared from the site in keeping with established safety and environmental protocols.
The Informal Settlements Unit remains committed to working alongside its partner agencies to support lawful development, protect public and private land, and ensure that planning regulations are enforced in a coordinated and transparent manner across the Turks and Caicos Islands. Similar joint operations will continue as part of the Government’s wider strategy to address unauthorised development and informal settlement activity.
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News3 days agoStrong December Performance Signals Continued Demand for the Turks and Caicos Islands
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