By Expedia Team, on March 11, 2015

Turks and Caicos Islands changes time zone for later sunsets

When travellers book a trip to a tropical island, the warm sunshine is one of the biggest draws. The tourism industry of the Turks and Caicos Islands is well aware of this fact and is taking action to extend the amount of sunshine visitors can soak up by changing to a different time zone.

According to The Associated Press, the Turks and Caicos Islands began using Atlantic Standard Time on March 8, 2015. Previously, when the territory was under Eastern Standard Time, the sun would set at around 5 p.m. in winter, the area’s peak tourism season. The new time zone pushes sunset to about 6 p.m. in winter.

As Employment Minister Ricardo Don Hue Gardiner explained during a press announcement, the British Caribbean territory relies heavily on income from tourists. This change will provide hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars and other hot spots with a beneficial boost as people spend more hours out on the town.

The time zone change should have little disruption on travel to and from the Turks and Caicos Islands, as airlines and shipping companies were made aware of the change months ago.