With a vibrant economy, and a multi-island destination where seasonality is an unknown vocabulary according to the minister, “the selling point for Turks and Caicos is to be ahead of everyone, to be accessible, and to provide a first-class unparalleled tourism product.”
“With 4000 rooms available and most of the time sold for an average of $1600 a night, we enjoy one of the highest revenues in the business,” a proud minister explained. “With two international airports, we emphasize connectivity. With AIRBNB as a more price-conscious alternative to traditional hotels or villas, we open up to an alternative inbound clientele as well.”
Furthermore, the minister told eTurboNews her country has to sustain what it has. Their marketing success is based on a number-driven approach.
Minister Conolly says: “A feasibility study has been guiding her government to expand conservatively and responsibly. Our guiding light is to put the right development in the right place.”
Where and Why to go on Turks & Caicos?
The Ritz-Carlton, Turks, and Caicos with its Casino is the tallest hotel structure on the islands, a 12-story luxury resort, located on central Grace Bay Beach.
“Nobody else has the colors of our water,” said Mrs Stacy Cox, CEO of the Turks and Caicos Hotels and Tourism Association.
“The country has no fast food restaurants and no traffic lights, and maybe last place for a truly authentic Caribbean experience.”
Minister Conolly added: “The dining experience when visiting Turks and Caicos is world class and for some the crème de la crème.”
That’s why one of the many, but more popular Turks and Caicos festivals is the annual Caribbean Food and Wine Festival. Every fall, food connoisseurs and wine enthusiasts flock to Turks and Caicos.
Turks and Caicos is a magnet for those who can afford to travel on a luxury yacht, but also for cruise lines, such as the private ocean oasis aboard a Ritz-Carlton voyage.
“Destination Weddings, and incentive travel – these are all experiences where we shine especially bright. “
“Turks and Caicos is not a mass tourism destination”, authorities provide cruise passengers with an embarkation point that will not disturb other guests traveling to the islands.
Providenciales
Providenciales is the third largest island in the Turks and Caicos chain and the hub of tourism activity. More commonly known as Provo, the 38 square mile island is home to Grace Bay Beach, recipient of the World’s Best Beach award year after year. The Providenciales International Airport is the gateway to the island offering many ultra-luxurious villas, resorts, and hotels.
Grand Turk
Known for its unparalleled diving and rustic charm of Grand Turk, it’s the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands. The island attracts avid divers eager to experience one of the world’s greatest wall-diving meccas, with a drop of nearly 7000 feet.
North Caicos
North Caicos is the lushest of all the islands because of the abundant rainfall. The population is around 1,400, mostly people living in the settlements of Bottle Creek Village, Whitby, Kew, and Sandy Point. Bottle Creek Village borders a lagoon on the northeast of the island and is protected from the ocean by a long ribbon of sand.
North Caicos is 12 miles northeast of Providenciales. Ferry, and boat charters are available, making North Caicos easily accessible.
The island has several luxury resort properties underway. Blessed with the same white sandy beaches as its neighbors, it is evolving as a ‘getaway’ from the more developed Provo.
South Caicos
Commonly referred to as “The Big South”, the island is a marine paradise best known as the fishing capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The 18 square mile island has a brilliant blend of luxury and quaint accommodations that include Ocean & Beach Resort, Salterra, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa (2025 Development), and the island’s only five-star property – Sail Rock Resort.
Middle Caicos
Making up the other half of the ‘twin islands’ is Middle Caicos. It is the largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands chain. A visit is an ideal experience and is the perfect opportunity to explore the dramatic cave system and revel in discovering the maze of caverns in The Indian Cave and Conch Bar Cave.
The Island is home to some of the largest limestone cave systems in the Caribbean region with the underground caves extending for miles and connecting to the ocean. The island offers hiking, biking, and Hobie tandem kayak fishing.
There are three settlements on the island. They are Conch Bar, Lorimers, and Bambarra.
The settlement of Bambarra was established on the North Shore of the island in 1842 by survivors of the shipwreck of the Gambia, a Spanish slave ship bound for Cuba. “Bambarra” refers to the Bamberra people who lived on the shores of the Niger River in West Africa.
Salt Cay
Time stands still on Salt Cay, the 2.5 square mile island in the Turks Bank, where a visitor will experience an authentic, modest slow place to island life.
Tourists can arrive on this ‘island that time forgot’ via ferry or airplane and be shuttled around by a golf cart. At every turn there are remnants of the island’s past as the center of the salt industry with the lingering presence of longstanding salinas and preserved Bermudian architecture, there are ample opportunities to get lost in the historic significance of the island.
The island’s enchanting bed and breakfast style accommodations welcome returning guests year after year. The quaint island has a population of less than 80 residents who are well-known for their kind hospitality and jovial nature.
Accessibility
TCI has eight airports. The Howard Hamilton Airport in Providenciales is the main one currently for international flights. Starting February 2025, the Norman B Saunders Airport in South Caicos will see the return of international flights with the nonstop AA flight from Miami. See below.
| Providenciales International Airport | IATA: PLS, ICAO: MBPV |
| Grand Turk International Airport | IATA: GDT, ICAO: MBGT |
| North Caicos Airport | IATA: NCA, ICAO: MBNC |
| Middle Caicos Airport | IATA: MDS, ICAO: MBMC |
| South Caicos Airport | IATA: XSC, ICAO: MBSC |
| Salt Cay Airport | IATA: SLX, ICAO: MBSY |
| Pine Cay Airport | IATA: PIC, ICAO: MBPI |
| Ambergris Cay Airport | ICAO: MBAC |
The country has a growing number of airlines serving direct flights to several US gateways, the UK, and Canada.
According to the minister, officials are discussing possible direct air links with Star Alliance carrier Copa Airlines in Panama to attract more travelers from South America. The minister said officials had been discussing direct flights from Germany with Condor as well.
Travel between islands is easy by ferry and air.
Airbnb vs Luxury Accommodations
Even though luxury accommodations with an average room rate of $1680.00 a night are often more than a traditional hotel room, but 1,2, or 3-bedroom suites.
Luxury villas can include private pools and even a private airport, but AIRBNB remains a popular way for many to get an original taste of the islands that are known to have the bluest waters in the Caribbean.
A reason the country is looking to expand on the German market is longer stays, but also travelers from Europe looking for an authentic experience they feel can be found in AIRBNB-type accommodations.
Ageless Tourism
Minister Connolly emphasized the importance of travelers 60+ and older, known by the World Tourism Network as Ageless Tourism.
Mature travelers love to travel, they have more time and more money but often have special needs.
As demographic shifts indicate, the fastest-growing travel cohorts are women aged 60+ and travelers over 80, seeking Ageless Experiences like grandparent and Skip Generation trips, respite travel for caregivers, senior sports, soft adventure, lifelong learning, volunteering, wellness travel, medical tourism, and cultural travel.
Travel Agents love Turks & Caicos even more
Selling travel to Turks and Caicos is a special treat for travel agents, and it shows. Commissions earned on trips are the highest compared to almost all competing travel to the Caribbean.
Turks and Caicos is a Debt Free Country
In 2019 the Turks and Caicos Weekly News reported that in one year the country could be debt-free if the Government pays off the entire $3.75 million that is owed. Shortly thereafter, Turks and Caicos joined Macao as a jurisdiction that is completely debt-free. Both destinations are tourism-dependent.
Having no more debt means, that the government does not have to pay interest any more. This can mean, that there is money to spend on other things like infrastructure or welfare. In Turks and Caicos, it gets even better: There is also no income tax, capital gains tax, property tax, inheritance tax, or corporation tax.
Macao’s industry is s just 5% non-gaming and 95% gaming, according to IGamiX, a Macao-based consultancy.
According to Minister Connolly, Turks And Caicos relies 98% on travel and tourism for its income. It means both China Special Administration Zone Macao and British Overseas Territory Turks and Caicos can thank travel and tourism for its wealth.
Not only is the travel and tourism industry providing most jobs in the country, but also for a growing number of ex-pats from more than 90 countries that reside in this Caribbean melting pot. They came from the UK, Haiti, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and many other countries.
Turks and Caicos is now trying hard to attract those who left the country during more challenging times to come back.
As of September 6, 2024, the population of the Turks and Caicos Islands is 46,594, according to United Nations estimates. This is an increase of 0.8% from 2023.
Who is the Hon. Josephine Connolly?
Last week Minister Josehine Conolly from the Turks and Caicos Islands congratulated the new Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation the Hon Ian Gooding-Edghill, Minister of Tourism and International Transport for Barbados.
The minister told eTurboNews, that she attended the CTO conference SOTIC 2024 in the Cayman Islands to learn more about developments in fellow Caribbean nations, and to share her success and observations with other CTO members.
She congratulated the Barbados Tourism Minister Gooding-Edghill to his election to chair the Caribbean Tourism Board.
Minister of Tourism, the Hon Josephine Connolly congratulated the new Chairman after the vote in the Cayman Islands on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, The Hon. Josephine Connolly assumed her role as Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage, Maritime, Gaming, and Disaster Management for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Her appointment was made by the recently elected Premier, Hon. Charles Washington Misick, following the general election held on Friday, February 19, 2021.
According to her own words, her job is to ensure Turks and Caicos’ success as a tourism destination and to explore all opportunities for growth and development of the tourism sector. She said at her appointment, she was committed to working to ensure the industry surpasses its current record as one of the leading luxury destinations in the Caribbean.
Hon. Connolly started business in Providenciales in 1991, Tropical Auto Rentals Ltd (car hire), Connolly Motors Ltd. (retail car parts), 88.1FM (radio station), Connolly Services Ltd (Western Union) and Connolly Kia Ltd (Kia distributer).
Between 2004 and 2010 Hon. Connolly attended the University of Central Lancashire, obtaining a BSc in Management and Politics and MSc in Human Resource Management.
In July 2012 she was elected as one of the five all-island members of the House of Assembly and subsequently was elected as Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly. In 2016 she was again elected as an all-island member. In 2021 she was elected for a third term as an all-island member and is now serving as Minister of Tourism.
Hon. Connolly has been active in assisting her community through her charitable activities as a volunteer “In the Pink,” benefiting the Turks and Caicos National Cancer Society.
Hon. Connolly has been married for 31 years and has two adult children. She is President of the Girl Guides Association, patron of the Soroptimists, a member of the Turks & Caicos Real Estate Association (TCREA), and a member of the Certified Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD).
More information
Visit the Turks and Caicos Tourism website https://www.visittci.com
