It’s been one of the biggest success stories in the Caribbean since the pandemic: the Turks and Caicos Islands, a hotspot that has seen significant growth since 2020 and, more importantly, solidified itself as one of the region’s premier luxury destinations. 

Turks and Caicos became a haven for high-net-worth travelers in the pandemic, and the destinations growth has only quickened in the interim. 

Arrival numbers matched pre-pandemic levels last year and will do so again in 2023, according to Turks and Caicos Tourism Minister Josephine Connolly, who was speaking this week to kick off the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Tourism Industry conference at the destination’s most celebrated resort, the Shore Club on Long Bay in Providenciales. 

Arrivals are “continue to grow immensely” in 2023, according to a statement from Experience Turks and Caicos, the territory’s new Destination Marketing Organization. 

So far this year, Turks and Caicos has reported 321,423 arrivals, dominated by the United States market, which has sent 291,070 visitors to the territory by air. 

TCI is also seeing a 51.7 percent increase in cruise passenger visits to Grand Turk. 

Turks and Caicos will receive another boost next month, when Virgin Atlantic begins its first-ever flights to Turks and Caicos from London Heathrow. 

That service will begin on Nov. 4. 

Experience Turks and Caicos just launched earlier this year, with a goal to “promote all of the islands and the development of tours and attractions to assist islanders to benefit from tourism through culture/heritage tours, local culinary offers and adventure tours, land and water-based activities,” Connolly said. 

The idea, she said, is to “build awareness about all the islands, the people, each island’s unique natural assets, distinct natural beauty and charm.”