Turks and Caicos Islands

oom for expansion of the fin fishery in the country and agriculture in North Caicos as long as the necessary
infrastructure is put in place. Government employment is especially important to Grand Turk, the seat of
administration. Since the size of the public sector is determined by growth in revenues collected from the
private sector, employment opportunities in Grand Turk are to some extent reliant on growth in
Providenciales (Kairi Consultants Limited, 2000a).
The CPA surveys were carried out in first half of 1999 and the Survey of Living Conditions revealed that 26%
of all individuals in TCI were poor and 3.2% were indigent. Therefore almost all individuals in the country
are able to satisfy their basic nutritional requirements. Providenciales was the only island that had fewer
poor per capita (only 15.3% of the island population was poor), thereby explaining the continuing exodus to
the island. At the time Haitians made up 30% of the population, but 38% of those living under the poverty
line. Haitians have filled unskilled positions and expatriates have filled higher level positions leaving
Islanders marginalized between the two groups (Kairi Consultants Limited, 2000a). The latest Development
Framework has placed the empowerment of TC Islanders very much at the forefront:
TCIslanders must remain first as the subject of all development, and cease being incidental. Their
goals, their needs and the benefits to themselves, and the generations following, now command
primacy of place. (Source: Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, 2008)
The gap between rich and poor is seen in construction costs where typically the higher the per capita GDP,
the higher the construction cost and therefore the greater the value on completion. In Turks and Caicos,
per capita GDP is the lowest and construction costs are amongst the highest suggesting that a high income
minority is involved in the development and subsequent sale of property (BCQS International, 2010). There
is also a general perception that the banking system is not supportive of the TC Islander business person
and it is alleged that it is far easier for someone from the North Atlantic to secure financing than locals. The
result is “that the growth of the economy has not produced an equitable share in the benefits between
foreign and domestic business. The large number of instances cited suggests that these are not mere
anecdotes. Even if the perception were false, it exists nevertheless” (Kairi Consultants Limited, 2000a).
2.3. Importance of tourism to the national economy
Caribbean tourism is based on the natural environment, and the region’s countries are known primarily as
beach destinations. The tourism product therefore depends on favourable weather conditions as well as on
an attractive and healthy natural environment, particularly in the coastal zone. Both of these are
threatened by climate change. The Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region in the world with few
options to develop alternative economic sectors and is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to
the impacts of climate change including sea level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, biodiversity loss and
impacts on human health.
The development of tourism began in 1967 when the Executive Council agreed to lease 4,000 acres in
Providenciales to Provident Ltd, with the option to outright purchase, on the completion of certain
development projects (Kairi Consultants Limited, 2000a). Section 2.2 has already shown that hotels and
restaurants alone have contributed close to 30% of GDP in the period 2000-2007 and are responsible for
21% of employment in 2007. The contribution of tourism as a whole was reported to be between 29 and
40% of GDP between 1995 and 2005 (CDB, 2006). With no income tax or property tax the 9%
accommodation tax in hotels and guesthouses makes a significant contribution to Government Revenue
with some of the proceeds (1%) earmarked for the National Trust and the Management of the National
Parks (Kairi Consultants Limited, 2000a).
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