Minister of Tourism Turks and Caicos Islands (Government)

Being a British Oversees Territory with an independent Government, Turks and Caicos Islands have a somewhat unique position in the Caribbean. Its 35.000 inhabitants enjoy a high standard of living with a GDP per capita of almost 24.000 USD, among the highest in the Caribbean. But there are many countries in the region that compete in similar sectors, such as tourism, real estate or financial services. What are the advantages that set Turks and Caicos apart from the rest of the Caribbean countries?

Turks and Caicos is a very stable country. It is a British overseas territory and that affords us a lot of stability of the British common law system. Its proximity to the major markets in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America makes it an ideal destination and the country is served by all of the major carriers in North America.

Turks and Caicos has positioned itself as a high-end luxury destination, which has given us more immunity from slow economies in North America and Europe.

We are virtually the new kids on the block: there are 35,000 people spread over eight inhabited islands with very low density and there are a lot of opportunities for investment. All of these things coupled together make Turks and Caicos an ideal destination and gives us the competitive edge.


Turks and Caicos was strongly hit eight years ago by the global financial crisis and Hurricane Ike, a combination that lowered tourism sector’s revenues, which had a serious impact on the economy. However, according to the International Monetary Fund, since 2012 the country’s economy maintains a steady growth and a public debt that has reduced to around 11% of GDP. To what do you attribute this economic performance?

It is chiefly due to the strategy we implemented to maintain Turks and Caicos as a luxury brand. We have positioned the destination wisely so as a luxury high end destination and high net worth persons in North America and Europe are not as affected by economic downturns. It was a key to our strategy to not only weather the economic downturn but to grow from a tourism perspective. Of course the economic recession hurt infrastructure development, but we’ve seen continuous double digit growth since 2012.


The new administration led by the Premier Cartwright-Robinson took over in December 2016, when you became Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture. Which are the main goals and challenges in the tourism sector for this four years term?

Providenciales of course is the gem and the jewel of our country. But we have many other islands that are equally as beautiful, the people are equally as friendly and they are almost as accessible as Providenciales. The public will hear a whole lot about our family of islands over the next four years.

We are a multi-island destination, every island has unique offerings and adventures, and we see it as an opportunity to give our visitors and investors different possibilities in the family islands.


During the year 2000, Turks and Caicos welcomed over 150.000 tourists; 15 years later, more than 1.3 million travellers come to the islands each year. How have you achieved this success?

We have worked to be unique and keep those things that make us a luxury destination and, during that time, we also had the advent of the cruise sector to Turks and Caicos. Almost a million of those passengers come via cruise to the capital island Grand Turk, a manageable growth because we are still a very low density destination.

The only constraint to that growth is the lack of available accommodations. This is a great time to do business in Turks and Caicos, because the old saying says “If you build, a day will come,” and there is a huge need for investment in the hotel sector.

There must be a push to drive investment in the accommodation sector. Our brand is strong. All of the fundamentals are right; low crime or no crime, close proximity to major markets, U.S currency is the main tender and no control on foreign exchange.


You are currently carrying out a campaign to expose internationally the country:  “Many Islands, Many Possibilities” aimed to promote “Brand Turks and Caicos”. What are the values that you want to associate to the brand?

The slogan “Beautiful by Nature,” says it all. We are an eco-friendly beautiful country not only in terms of geography, but in terms of heritage, culture and people. We are truly beautiful by nature and I think they are the most positive attributes of our brand.

We are now working to bring more visibility to the family islands. Grand Turk, our nation’s capital, and Middle Caicos, are truly unique places that have every right to be destinations unto themselves. In North Caicos we have about 50,000 visitors going on day trips, but there are no big resorts there; so the idea is to give every island a fair chance at attracting visitors.


In 2015, more than 8.000 tourists arrive to Turks and Caicos via private aircraft, and there are two private terminals in Providenciales; Provo Air Center and Blue Heron Aviation. What is the importance of the luxury sector within tourism?

In the very near future we can announce a third airfield in the country. I think that speaks volumes to the strength of our brand. The visitors that use these services are purchasing real estate and building homes, a trend that will continue as we are positioning the country correctly, within little circles of exclusivity


The new government wants to make Turks and Caicos an international financial center. Does it represent an opportunity for business tourism?

Turks and Caicos can certainly compete with all of the financial jurisdictions in the region and no doubt, in the world, from Jersey to Luxembourg to the Cayman Islands up to Bermuda. This government is committed to bringing together all of those possibilities and really taking a more proactive approach to positioning Turks and Caicos as a financial center; a place to do international transactions from.

We have the same framework certainly as the British territories. We have the same constitutional and legal framework in which to achieve that objective.


At the same time, Turks and Caicos is focused on the cruise ship sector, but the arrivals through the Grand Turk Cruise Center decreased by 4.3% between 2014 and 2015. What is your strategy to compete in this sector?

The reasons for that decrease has nothing to do with the product that is offered in Grand Turk primarily. It has to do with some self-inflicted situations which were not tackled as readily as they should be. But this government is committed to addressing those issues to see growth shortly.

The cruise port’s growth has exceeded the expectation of the developers and operators of the cruise center. Now the systems have to catch up to keep pace with the growth that we are experiencing. It has grown much faster than anyone had anticipated; by now we have reached one million visitors instead of the half a million or 700,000 expected.


However, the profile of cruise ship travelers different from that of luxury travelers and, at the same time, produces a significant impact on the islands. Is the cruise ship sector the future of tourism in Turks and Caicos?

Not a vast majority of the future. It is an important part of our future because the cruise sector is the fastest growing mode of travel in hospitality and we are fortunate to be a multi-island state. Having a cruise center in our capital island would not affect what happens in Providenciales or what happens in North Caicos. We are in a position where we can have the best of both worlds.

In terms of environmental impact, we have every assurance that all of the systems are in place to mitigate the impact. Our natural environment, our reefs, our coastal areas have been considered in the implementation of the cruise sector.


The United States is the largest economic partner of Turks and Caicos and provides around the 80% of the tourists to the islands, followed by Canada, which represents approximately 12%. But you have promoted Turks and Caicos in other countries and regions too, such as in South America. Which markets is Turks and Caicos trying to reach?

The United States is the natural market of Turks and Caicos, and even with the United Sates being 80% of our source market, we have not touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of North America.

Out of that 80% of the visitors, about 75% come from the tristate area. We also have the Midwest and Texas and the west coast and California. We are seeing tremendous interest and growth out of California, and again that is the celebrity connection.

In addition we are going to seek to diversify our source markets. Turks and Caicos can become popular in every region of the world, but we have to be realistic. For those countries that have strong or growing economies, a growing middle class and a growing upper class and are within a certain radius is where we are going to be pursuing. We have seen tremendous interest out of Latin America, chiefly Brazil.


The tourism development entails a large expansion of real estate projects, construction and growing facilities, which obviously have an environmental impact. The main asset of Turks and Caicos is the beauty of its beaches. How can you combine tourism growth safeguarding the authenticity of the islands?

We lead the region in terms of having a good solid environmental base. Every development here must be low density, must subscribe to those rules; sandbags from the beach to ensure minimal or no erosion, not clearing of land, catch and release programs. We have the largest percentage of our country in the region set apart for national parks where no development can ever take place.

Those safeguards will ensure that we have a balanced situation with investment, development and the environment.


You have an extensive career in tourism. You have been serving the country in this sector for 20 years in the Board of Tourism. In 2014, you received Caribbean Travel’s Tourism Director of the Year award and now you have been appointed Minister. What do you feel most proud of?

I am proud of this country. This country has tremendous possibilities; the sky is the limit for Turks and Caicos. I am proud that in the face of the most severe economic downturn since the great depression, we were able to rise above it, keep our brand intact and grow our destination. Do we have some challenges? Yes we do, but our ability to overcome them and our resources, natural resources, beauty, commitment to overcome them are greater than the challenges.


Harvard Business Review readers include the most influential business leaders and top decision makers around the world. As a conclusion to this interview, what would you like to say about the future of the tourism in Turks and Caicos under your administration?

The sky is the limit for Turks and Caicos tourism. We have many islands that are equally as beautiful as Providenciales that are just waiting to be exposed. And those persons who would read this publication who may wish to get on some ground floor opportunities in the Caribbean and in one of the Caribbean’s hottest destination, Turks and Caicos, I would like to invite them to come and see for themselves what Turks and Caicos is all about.