Tourism in the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

is an industry that generates more than 1 million tourist arrivals per year, and is "the main source of revenue for the country. The tourism industry began in the 1980s, with the opening of

Club Med Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Founded in 1950, the company has been primarily o ...

Turquoise, the country's first main resort." "Tourism has benefited from the proximity to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the stability via being a British Overseas Territory. The opening of a cruise port on Grand Turk in 2006 resulted in a significant increase in tourism arrivals to the country."

Cultural and heritage tourism

Cockburn Town in Grand Turk was founded in 1681 by Bermudian salt collectors. This has resulted in a British colonial heritage which continues to this day.

Major historical sites

Grand Turk Lighthouse Grand Turk Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Grand Turk Island, Turks and Caicos Islands. The structure, overlooking North Creek, was completed by British architect Alexander Gordon in 1852 to alert sailors of the shallow reef. Brighter kerosene l ...

* Wade's Green Plantation * Cheshire Hall plantation *

Haulover Plantation Haulover Park is a urban park owned and operated by Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation & Open Spaces Department, located in metropolitan Miami, just north of Bal Harbour, Florida. The park is located on a shoal between the Atlantic Ocean and ...

Ecotourism

The Caicos Banks, which lie south of the chain of Caicos Islands, is a unique destination for many types of watersports, such as

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

and

Standup paddleboarding Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Stand up paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water, and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was doc ...

. A number of wetlands throughout the islands are protected under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

Providenciales Providenciales (known locally as Provo) is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the la ...

is home to several national parks, including the Northwest Point National Park and the Pigeon Pond and Frenchman’s Creek Nature Reserve, which is home to the endangered

West Indian whistling duck The West Indian whistling duck (''Dendrocygna arborea'') is a whistling duck that breeds in the Caribbean. Alternative names are black-billed whistling duck and Cuban whistling duck. Distribution The West Indian whistling duck is widely scatt ...

Tourism promotion

Tourism promotion is handled through

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

grants to private businesses, direct marketing by large chain resorts, and organizations such as

Visit Turks and Caicos Islands Visit Turks and Caicos Islands is an organization tasked with promoting tourism in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Tourism is the main driver of the national economy in the islands, accounting for 42.8% of the national GDP in 2013.http://suntci.com/ ...

interCaribbean Airways InterCaribbean Airways, Ltd. (formerly known as Air Turks & Caicos) is a low-cost airline, based in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The airline offers scheduled domestic and regional commercial passenger flight ser ...

(formerly Air Turks and Caicos) is an important source of regional visitor traffic as there is a lack of regional airlift into the country. Expansion of the

Providenciales International Airport Providenciales International Airport , on the island of Providenciales in the Caicos Islands, is the main international airport serving the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. It is operated by Turks an ...

was completed in 2015 in efforts to encourage more trans-Atlantic flights to the country.

References

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Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...