Brazil is becoming an increasingly important tourism source market for the Turks and Caicos Islands. For these reasons, a delegation from the Turks and Caicos attended the World Travel Market – Latin America (WTM-LA) with executives from the Tourism Board, including the Honorable Porsha Stubbs-Smith, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Culture and Heritage; Ralph Higgs, Director of the Tourism Board; Gardè Alleyne, Personal Assistant to the Minister; Don Gardiner, Chairman of the Tourism Board and Wayne Garland, Member of the Tourism Board.
For about more than a year, Net Hospitality has been representing the destination in the Brazilian market. Since then, the destination has had an increase in the volume of Brazilian tourists and Brazil went from being the ninth to the fourth largest tourism source market for the Turks and Caicos, just behind the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
In meeting tour operators and media professionals at WTM-LA, the Honorable Porsha Stubbs-Smith stressed that Brazil is a major source of business for the destination. “Brazil became the fourth most important source market for Turks and Caicos. We hope that with our presence and networking at WTM-LA we will foster new relationships and continue to see growth not only from Brazil but also from other Latin American countries,” said Smith.
According to Ralph Higgs, Director of the Tourism Board, the biggest challenge at the moment is to show that the destination is much more than honeymoons and weddings. “We are a very plural destination. We have one of the largest coral reefs in the world and a strong emphasis on water sports and diving. Another important attraction is the observation of whales and dolphins, which takes place between January and March.” Higgs also mentioned that the destination has several food festivals during the month of November.
“Our beaches, the main attraction sought by Brazilians, are gaining more popularity with Grace Bay Beach recent recognition as the best beach in the world by TripAdvisor,” said Higgs. “Exclusivity is another advantage. We have 40 islands and cays, of which only 20% are inhabited,” he concludes.
In order to promote the attractions, the Turks and Caicos tourism team envisions actions with the largest tour operators and trainings for major travel agencies of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Brasilia and Porto Alegre. “We will hold more than 40 trainings, including online sessions via Skype. In 2015 we made over 30 big trainings at the capitals cities around the country,” concluded Mauricio Vianna of Net Hospitality.
