From Turks & Caicos Weekly News

The governors of the five British overseas territories in the Caribbean – Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands – and nearby Bermuda got together for one of their occasional meetings, in Miami in September.

Commenting on the meeting on his return, Governor Peter Beckingham said: “Our main purpose is to compare notes on developments, consider how we are working with London, look at strategies for the future, and most importantly learn from each other’s experiences and best practice.

“I’m struck, when we do meet, by how many similarities there are across our territories, but also by the differences.”

He noted that one of the most significant areas in common is security, where most of his colleagues also share at least some responsibilities for policing and internal protection on their islands.

According to Beckingham, there are common areas of concern but there are, of course, also big differences, with more gang related problems in some territories than others.

“Availability of guns is an increasing problem across the territories, as we have witnessed so tragically again in Providenciales recently.

“We considered the value of establishing some form of national security body, as they have in the British Virgin Islands.”

Beckingham added that since his return from the Miami meeting, Premier Rufus Ewing has already confirmed his agreement to his proposal to instigate the TCI’s own National Security Council, which will meet later this month.

“Meetings of Cabinet are a common practice across the territories, although with differences of regularity.

“Underlining the common Christian faith in all of our countries, every territory has prayers before Cabinet.”

The Governor said that the Turks and Caicos Islands’ Cabinet boasts one of the fastest and most transparent reporting systems – with a written statement of Cabinet’s decisions issued within 24 hours, a speed which impressed some of his colleagues.

“Tourism is a shared interest for all of us, and we considered with London the advantages of joint promotions.

“On balance, most of us believe we need to market the differences between our offerings to potential customers, rather than initiate combined efforts.”

He added that for all the territories, the North American market remains the bedrock of tourism appeal, although the growing attraction of the Caribbean overseas territories for tourism from Europe was recognised.

“We in Turks and Caicos have some catching up to do, understandably, with Cayman’s and Bermuda’s frequency of flights from London, but the start of a second British Airways routing to Providenciales later this year is certainly putting us in an increasingly strong position to capture a bigger share of the European market.”

The Governor noted that he was very struck by Butch Stewart’s Sandals and Beaches Group highly visible marketing in the mainstream UK press.

The Turks and Caicos Islands is also in an enviable position compared to most of the Caribbean OT’s for cruise ship business, he said.

At the end of the meeting, Beckingham said that he called on senior management at the Carnival Group to hear about latest developments affecting business in Grand Turk.

He noted that the advent of a new cruise centre in the Dominican Republic this autumn will have some impact and present challenges on Grand Turk, but hopefully the TCI can maintain its great position as one of the top five global destinations, with only Cayman, among the overseas territories, receiving more passengers.

“Not surprisingly Carnival emphasised how important it was for Grand Turk to start using the $4 million plus that we have in the joint TCI Government/Carnival Infrastructure Fund to make our destination a cleaner, more attractive and hassle free destination.

“Protecting the environment of our territories is another fundamental area of common cause, and even the briefest of discussions revealed some of our shared concerns: including reef preservation, wildlife, and litter.

“Our consulate in Miami, underlining the value of the wider UK connections, are keen to help promote our maritime initiatives.”

He added that it is his hope that the TCI Government’s decision in Cabinet to explore ways to remove polystyrene and Styrofoam products will make the country one of the leaders among the territories and in the region.

“Many of these areas of common interest and responsibility will be the subject of further debate and exchange of information when the Premiers and leaders of all the overseas territories, including those outside the Caribbean, meet with British Ministers for their Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in London in December.

“It is not the best time of year to travel to England, but hopefully our discussions have helped to ensure that all the Caribbean territories have a better understanding of how we can work together to make our destinations among the most attractive and forward looking for visitors in the region,” the Governor stated.

Adding: “I look forward to attending the JMC, as it is known, with the Premier, when there will be plenty of opportunities to promote TCI’s great attractions on the UK stage.”

For more on this story go to: http://tcweeklynews.com/promoting-tci-and-the-uk-overseas-territories-in-the-caribbean-and-beyond-p6600-127.htm

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