FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS (22th September, 2021) – The Turks and Caicos Islands
Tourist Board, the exclusive tourism authority for the Turks and Caicos Islands, is pleased to
announce the preliminary visitor statistics for the destination, clearly depicting that the Islands
saw one of its busiest summers on record in 2021. Compared to pre-pandemic statistics in
2019, the destination saw an increase of over 18% in June with 54,188 visitors, an increase of
19% in July increase with 56,022 visitors, and an increase of 15% in August with 41,734 visitors.
These numbers exceeded all projection modules and are well above average in a normal
economic climate. Taking into consideration the current economic conditions and travel
sentiment caused as a result of the global pandemic these numbers are considered
extraordinary. Tourism in the destination continues to flourish thanks to diligent safety
protocols and strategic marketing campaigns in the United States, Canada, South America,
United Kingdom and Europe.
These powerful statistics are due to a combination of factors, including pent up demand for
travel during the summer, and the result of the Tourist Board’s strategic marketing plans to
promote the destination as a safe destination, including protocols enacted to ensure that both
the local and international population are protected during these challenging times. The Tourist
Board has carried out aggressive public relations campaigns, including press visits with key
publications to ensure that they tell the authentic Turks and Caicos story on a consistent basis.
The current public relations campaigns also include radio campaigns in source markets,
advertising and partnerships with key stakeholders, and executing the Tourist Board’s signature
event, Turks and Caicos Conference (TACC), which updated key wholesale and airline partners,
who drive millions on dollars in revenue to the destination, on updated protocols and
accommodation availability. These strategic promotions with key partners and the TCI Assured
protocols to increase travel confidence, combined with the aggressive vaccine campaign
spearhead by the Ministry of Health, has had a tremendous positive impact on the business
that the Turks and Caicos Islands has received and confidence in the safety and security in the
destination.
September is traditionally the slowest tourism month of the year for the Turks and Caicos and
regional competitors, primarily due to it being the peak hurricane season in the Caribbean
region. Many of the destination’s hotels and restaurants take this opportunity to seasonally
close for renovations that ensure the quality of the product remains consistent and it also
allows staff members to take vacations, ensuing that they become rejuvenated for the busier
winter season. While these predicted seasonal closers occur in 2021, information received from
the Tourist Board’s local and international partners indicate that September statistics are
pacing to be the same as 2019 and October statistics are currently pacing approximately 10%
ahead of 2019. Booking windows are shorter than they have been in previous years, so while
the remainder of the season will be impacted by the Delta Variant, we are working towards and
hopeful for a busy and successful Festive season.
“I am pleased to see that our destination has performed so well, especially during the summer
which has historically been the slow season for the Turks and Caicos Islands,” commented
Minister of Tourism Honorable Josephine Connolly. “We enacted and enforced the necessary
protocols to keep our local population and our visitors safe, which has resulted in excellent
numbers and a summer that has performed above previous years. We are looking forward to a
promising Festive season and are doing everything in our power to ensure that tourism, our
main economic driver, is servicing our community and our travelling public equally”.
The Turks and Caicos Islands also continues to promote its vaccine campaign among residents,
with over 70 percent of the adult population being fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech
vaccine—making it one of the most inoculated countries in the world.
For more information on the Turks and Caicos Islands, call 1 (800) 241-0824 or visit
www.turksandcaicostourism.com. Follow the Turks and Caicos Islands on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and YouTube.
