My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, the month of November marks the official start of our Tourist Season, and it is with a profound sense of gratitude and thanks to God, that despite the many challenges facing the world and the world’s economies, it is with perseverance and fortitude we are blessed to usher in, what is projected to be, yet another remarkable year in Tourism and tourist arrivals to the shores of these beautiful islands.
Tourism remains a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounting for more than 50% directly and indirectly, and employing over 32% of our nation’s population. Thanks to this well-developed industry, our tourist arrivals rose 10% from 968,000 visitors in 2012, to just over 1 million in 2013 and these figures are projected to be far surpassed this year, as visitor arrivals for the first quarter of 2014 boasted an astounding 41% over the same period in the previous year.
Our continued growth speaks of a well-developed industry that has proven to be robust and resilient to the effects of the failing world economies and continues to support our economy and to appeal to travelers, largely from North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
Our unique product which goes above and beyond the sun, sand and sea, is a portfolio of high end luxury condo hotels, vacation villas and amenities and a diversity of natural attractions, people and local culture across our archipelago of islands that delivers on our promised values of total visitor satisfaction. It is estimated that there will be a further $600 million in hotel, condo and marina investment injected into our economy over the next two years. It is on the solidity of the performance and projections of our vibrant tourism industry that the Standards & Poors Credit Rating Agency rated us as a BBB+ with a stable outlook most recently.
While we must recognize and appreciate the success of our tourism industry, and celebrate the thousands of employees who serve our many guests, we cannot afford to become complacent or take our industry for granted. There has evolved today a new era in Tourism, and we must prove to be agile and adaptable in our efforts to meet the ever-changing needs of the traveler.
In 2013, the traditionally slow months of June, July and August showed the highest increase for the year in stop-over visitors over the same period in 2012 and this trend is now extending into the lowest months of September and October, as we introduce new programmes and initiatives to attract visitors to our shores. The once clearly defined seasonal tourism, to which we are accustomed, is slowly evolving to be a year-round cycle, and this is excellent news for the many businesses and households that thrive on this industry. But this paradigm shift brings with it different travelers with different expectations than before, which challenges us to do things differently than we did before.
We have indeed been blessed to experience continuous growth in tourist arrivals, especially in the face of the fiercely competitive travel destination market, but we can no longer merely talk about sustainable tourism. If we are serious about retaining our position as a formidable destination of choice, we must be ready to continuously rethink and redesign our strategic approach to tourism, as manifested in our efforts to meet the needs our guests as well as our efforts to capture the attention of the modern-day traveler.
We are therefore challenged to be accountable as a Government, as a country and as a people, to don our social responsibility to do our utmost to protect and develop our tourism product. Towards this end, we are currently preparing a revised National Tourism Strategic Plan which will be the framework for the sustainability of the industry and guide the nature of development and policies for the future. But there is also a need for each of us to also play our part in keeping our beautiful islands clean of refuse and free from pollution and communicable diseases that can also be major deterrents for visitors.
We are challenged to break free of our comfort zones and be innovative in our approach to the modernization and relevance of our industry. We must seek to develop a framework of cutting-edge technological networking, secured financial resourcing and responsible product diversification that will deliver sustainable economic growth and stability while building our resilience to the many environmental, health and social threats in border security, natural disasters, diseases and other health issues that threaten economies the world over, especially in small island developing states.
Tourism in these beautiful by nature Turks and Caicos Islands must continue to stand apart from the rest, in offering the finest in seven-star luxury and culturally rich experiences for our visitors while promoting the safety and security of guests and residents alike. We must continue our efforts in promoting responsible sustainable economic growth and development for the preservation of nature’s gift of earth, to ensure that we, and generations to come, benefit from the natural aesthetics of this stunning archipelago of islands that we call home.
Tourism is our key and I believe that we can, and must, unlock its possibilities, but we can only do so together. This requires commitment from us all and it requires partnerships with Government, corporations and other organizations for a revolutionary approach to supporting and promoting our tourism industry.
May God continue to richly bless these beautiful by nature Islands.
