The Premier Honourable Charles Washington Misick met with members of the Turks and Caicos Islands Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA) and tourism stakeholders on Friday, 26 February 2021.  

The purpose of this meeting was to speak with TCI’s local tourism partners and to hear their concerns, feedback and suggestions as it relates to the economy, the health of the tourism industry and the COVID-19 restrictive measures.

The Premier and stakeholders received updates from the Ministry of Finance, Investment and Trade on the country’s finances and the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nadia Astwood, within the Ministry of Health who gave a presentation on TCI’s management of the pandemic.

Following those updates, Premier Misick welcomed questions and feedback from stakeholders who expressed a number of concerns including:

• regular testing for staff to decrease risk of an outbreak
• relaxed restrictive measures to allow for a better experience for guests to these islands

Hoteliers also asked the Ministry of Health to consider expanding the list of accredited testing facilities to allow for testing at various hotel establishments for the purpose of testing guests prior to their exit from the TCI and the regular testing of staff.

The Premier expressing the Turks and Caicos Islands Government’s support of the plight the Tourism sector is currently facing, stated: “The Turks and Caicos Islands Government is acutely aware of the adverse effects not only on the TCI economy, but also the country’s main source of income, as a result of this pandemic.

It is imperative that we the Government meet with and hear from those directly impacted in the tourism sector so that we can, with the guidance of our health experts within the Ministry of Health, arrive at the best resolve for the safety of our people and our guests.

On behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, I would like to assure you that we hear the concerns of our tourism stakeholders, we sympathise with your collective and individual straits and we are working to alleviate what has been a challenging period for all of Turks and Caicos.”

Premier Misick was joined by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, Agriculture, Sports and Human Services, Honourable Erwin Jay Saunders and the Minister for Tourism, Environment, Heritage, Maritime, Gaming and Disaster Management, Honourable Josephine Connolly.