Following the recent news of the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands relaxing travel restrictions and public health measures, the Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board released an uplifting message on Thursday, 19th May.
The TCI Tourist Board encourages travelers to bear in mind that more than 85 percent of the adult population within the TCI are fully vaccinated, making the Turks and Caicos Islands one of the most inoculated countries in the world.
The Board stated that due to the ‘Beautiful by Nature’ British Caribbean islands’ commitment to the health and safety of its citizens, residents, and visitors, the country has received an Alert Level 2 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Josephine Connolly said that “travelers can take heart and be confident in their vacation plans, as they make the Turks and Caicos Islands their destination of choice to visit.” She added that “the Turks and Caicos Islands is one of the safest countries for travelers”.
The Ministry of Health and Human Services announced a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in April which is currently being administered to adults throughout the country, prioritizing those aged 60 and older or who are immunocompromised.
The Minister of Health, Hon. Jamell Robinson, said that “the COVID-19 pandemic was first and foremost a humanitarian crisis affecting people’s lives and livelihoods, but it also impacted our Islands further as tourism is an important part of our economy.”
The Honourable Minister mentioned that the government’s health team moved quickly to introduce measures aimed at containing the spread, while minimizing as much as possible the impact on the tourism sector.
In this regard, the great work of TCI’s health professionals and personnel is being celebrated this week with the launch of EMS Week 2022 – Rising to the Challenge last Sunday.
Hon. Robinson stated that his health team has “worked hard to restore traveler confidence and stimulate demand with new safe and clean labels for the health sector through information apps and continuous promotion campaigns.”
Hon. Connolly stated that when the country’s borders opened in July 2020, Turks and Caicos saw a steady increase in visitor arrivals. She went on to say that last year, the destination performed tremendously well, showing that the number of arrivals were returning to pre-Covid numbers.
She explained that as the tourism sector continues to rebound, the preliminary numbers have indicated that the Turks and Caicos is once again breaking visitor arrival records, with some 138,700 air arrivals and 173,100 cruise arrivals in the first quarter of 2022.
The Minister of Tourism continued to say that last month travel restrictions have relaxed significantly, so travelers are now being encouraged to embrace all that the Turks and Caicos Islands has to offer and create memories to last a lifetime.
Hon. Connolly reminded the public that while all travelers over the age of 18 must still show proof of full vaccination to visit the Islands, they are no longer required to provide a negative COVID-19 test or proof of travel insurance to gain entry as of 1st May 2022.
Also, she reminded persons that all visitors will no longer be required to upload their information to the TCI Assured Portal, as it was discontinued on Saturday, 30th April 2022. Moreover, face masks will no longer be required indoors and in enclosed spaces.
