MY TWO WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR – PEACE AND PROSPERITY, FOR ALL

Predictions and resolutions for a new year can often prove wildly wrong or optimistic. Sadly, one possibility I mentioned to a meeting of Permanent Secretaries (PSs) just  before Christmas – a terrorist outrage in Europe or the US – has already proved chillingly accurate, with the carnage on the streets of Paris in early January. No-one who heard the replay on the radio of the burst of gunfire by one of the terrorists killing a (Muslim) policeman will quickly forget its savagery.

The pavements  of Paris seem a million miles away from Providenciales, but returning to Turks and Caicos after 10 days in London the events in France still echo here. Canada and New York, much closer to us, have  also had their share of violence recently. I’m sure the church services this month in Grand Turk and Provo to honour our law enforcement officers will also provide the opportunity to pay tribute to the bravery of their French and American  counterparts.

As I said to the PSs, although no-one predicted at the turn of the century that tourism to the idyllic south east Asian island of Bali would be decimated by bombings,  there is nothing to suggest that the tranquil  seas of TCI should be disturbed by international terrorism.

Sadly the turn of our year was not marked by peace, with the senseless murder of a teenager, as well as  shootings, in a Provo bar. But compared  to the 1000 plus murders a year  in other Caribbean countries TCI still looks a haven of peace. It is mine, and I’m sure the current and new Police Commissioners’ fervent wish for 2015, that we retain that reputation.

My other big hope for 2015, which I intend to do my level best to see secured by continuing to support our tourism promotion whenever possible, is growing prosperity at all levels in TCI. So long as the Government and people of TCI choose to remain an UK  Overseas Territory  it is important to underline the close  UK-TCI co-operation across areas from security to international relations to our potential customers.

We may be able to boast, as recent figures demonstrated, that we are now one of the top three destinations (ahead of Grand Cayman) for private jet arrivals. But that is a worthless claim if the spending of our affluent visitors doesn’t make an impact across society.

Without all those tourists we would have little hope of ever becoming a truly middle income nation. We all need to ensure that North American (and increasingly European) travellers continue to regard Turks and Caicos as not only  a “beautiful by nature” destination – and we are going to have to be constantly  on our guard to preserve that reputation- but also one where they can stay peacefully and without undue hassle from beach hawkers. If we can  together succeed in fulfilling those aims  I confidently predict that 2015 should be another big step towards making Turks and Caicos one of the most prosperous countries in the Caribbean and beyond.

Picture: Grace Bay Beach, copyright tcvilas.com