Turks and Caicos tourism officials optimistic despite rising crime
The Turks and Caicos Islands tourism industry has not felt any negative impact from recent criminal incidents on the island.
Speaking at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Travel Marketplace in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, Stacy Cox, President of the Hotel and Tourism Association, said they had not seen any decline in arrivals or cancellations of bookings.
“The destination is moving ahead,” she said, offering condolences to victims' families.
On Sunday, American tourist Kent Carter of Arlington, Virginia, was killed while returning from an excursion when his vehicle was shot at during gang violence.
Carter was a member of the Arlington branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).
The incident left two others dead and five injured, including police officers.
The Government said via a statement on October 4 that the incident does not reflect who they are as a people. They touted the safety of the islands and vowed to maintain that.
On Wednesday, the cabinet approved an agreement between the TCI and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas to facilitate policing support to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
A suite of draft bills aimed at reforming the criminal justice system was approved and includes higher sentences for possession of firearms and high-powered firearms, empowering the police to impose stop and search persons and vehicles suspected of criminal activity, anti-gang legislation to combat organised crime, court orders to stop a person’s anti-social behaviour, and mandatory registration of new SIM cards to enable to the identification of purchasers.
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