Opinion | Tourism Without Accounting, Reform Without Evidence: How a Failed DMMO Became a Statutory Authority

Turks and Caicos is witnessing something extraordinary,  and deeply troubling.

A tourism governance model that:

• Failed to meet KPIs for three years

• Failed to hire qualified staff

• Failed to produce a strategic marketing plan

• Failed to maintain international presence

• Failed to comply with the Public Finance Management Ordinance (PFMO)

• Failed to deliver measurable outcomes

• Failed to retain its CEO

• Failed to earn public trust

…has now been reinstated, repackaged, and elevated into a statutory authority.

The unavoidable question is simple: How can a dismantled, discontinued, structurally noncompliant institution suddenly be reborn as the centerpiece of TCI’s tourism future?

And more importantly: Why?

A Government Restructuring Tourism Without Ever Measuring It

For decades, Caribbean governments have treated tourism not as an industry to be measured, evaluated, and optimized — but as a belief system. Turks and Caicos is no exception.

Despite tourism being our dominant economic sector, no TCI Government has ever conducted a full Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) to determine whether tourism actually benefits the country once all costs, leakages, and outflows are accounted for.

We count the money coming in. We never count the money going out.

And without both sides of the ledger, no responsible government can claim tourism is “working” for its people. Yet this Government continues to double down on tourism while failing to measure it — even as it restructures tourism governance three times in four years.

The Minister’s Press Release: Rebranding Without Repair

Minister of Tourism Hon. Zhavargo Jolly recently declared:

“Experience Turks and Caicos is entering a new chapter… strengthened promotion… sustainable growth… rooted in local culture.”

It sounds promising — until you examine what is not said.

The Minister never explains:

• What was broken

• What was fixed

• Who fixed it

• How it was fixed

• When it was fixed

• What structural reforms were implemented

• What governance failures were corrected

• What PFMO conflicts were resolved

• What accountability mechanisms now exist

Instead, he offers vague, aspirational language about culture, stories, experiences, and leadership pipelines.This is not reform. This is not compliance. This is not accountability. This is marketing.

The Core Contradiction: A Failed Institution Has Been Rewarded

The DMMO was:

• Dismantled

• Discontinued

• Declared structurally incompatible with PFMO

• Unable to function legally or operationally

Yet today, it is being elevated into a statutory authority — the highest form of public institutional legitimacy. This is not reform. This is resurrection without accountability.

The Tourism Governance Experiment: A Cycle of Abolition, Reinvention, and Failure

If the Government had a clear strategy for tourism, we would see consistency, accountability, and measurable results. Instead, we have witnessed a revolving door of institutions:

1. Ministry of Tourism — Abolished without explanation

2. Tourist Board — Dismantled despite decades of institutional knowledge

3. DMO (Experience TCI) — Created, then failed

4. DMMO — Another reinvention, also failed

5. New Tourism Authority — The latest attempt, still without an EIA

The unavoidable truth is that you cannot restructure tourism without measuring tourism.

Opposition Leader Astwood: “The DMMO Experiment Has Failed”

Hon. Edwin Astwood has been blunt:

• KPIs not met for three years

• Funding ballooned from $2.3M to $6.5M

• No measurable results

• Staff displaced

• Public trust eroded

• Millions wasted

The Government’s own actions now validate these warnings. The restructuring is not innovation. It is an admission of failure.

The Grace Bay Lobby: Influence, Not Policy

Weeks before the statutory authority was announced, the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA) launched a high‑profile U.S. Tourism Roadshow — the first in a decade — featuring:

• The Premier

• The Minister of Tourism

• Major resort groups

• Major private‑sector tourism operators

Days later, the Premier returned and revived the DMMO as a statutory authority. This is not coincidence. This is not policy. This is influence. A failed institution has been resurrected because powerful private‑sector interests prefer a DMMO‑style structure — one that serves them, not the country.

Tourism Without Accounting: The Most Dangerous Assumption

The most alarming fact remains unchanged…the Government has never conducted a full EIA of tourism. Not in 20 years. Not in 10 years. Not in 5 years. Not even now — after restructuring tourism governance three times in four years. We are resurrecting a failed institution without ever measuring whether tourism is actually benefiting the country. This is not governance. This is doctrine.

What Happens to $100 of Tourist Spending?

Here is the kind of analysis a responsible government should already have:

• Imports: –$40

• Foreign ownership repatriation: –$30

• Tax concessions: –$10

• Environmental & infrastructure costs: –$5

• Local retention: $15

Net benefit: $15

This is not an exact figure — because the Government has never measured it. But global data shows small tourism‑dependent islands typically retain 10–30% of tourism revenue. In TCI, where nearly all hotels, restaurants, and tours are foreign‑owned, retention may be even lower.

The Unanswered Questions

Before the new Tourism Authority can be taken seriously, the Government must answer:

1. What exactly failed in the DMMO?

2. What exactly was fixed?

3. How was PFMO incompatibility resolved?

4. Who is leading the new authority?

5. Where is the cultural development program?

6. Where is the strategic marketing plan?

7. Where is the EIA?

Until these questions are answered, the resurrection of the DMMO remains what it appears to be…a failed institution reborn not by merit — but by influence.

A Country Cannot Build Its Future on Unmeasured Assumptions

Turks and Caicos cannot continue:

• Restructuring tourism without measuring it

• Resurrecting failed institutions without accountability

• Governing by belief instead of evidence

• Deepening dependency instead of diversifying the economy

If tourism is truly our future, let the data prove it. If the new Tourism Authority is truly a step forward, let the Government show the reforms, the compliance, the KPIs, the leadership, the strategy, and the accountability.

Until then, the statutory resurrection of Experience Turks and Caicos is not a “new chapter.”

It is the same book — with a new cover.