The Premier and Minister of the Environment will be in the Turks and Caicos this week for a sustainable tourism development conference.

Attending the tenth Annual Caribbean Conference, will be not only Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, Minister of Tourism and Transport, and Elvin James Environment Minister, but also Arthur Hodgson, Sustainable Roundtable Chairman.

The Premier, yesterday, said developing tourism is on the front burner as is sustainable development so attending the conference will further these goals.

He said: "Tourism development is very much a front burner issue for us so our participation in this conference is timely.

"We will hear from environmentalists and tourism policy shapers who are experts in the Caribbean tourism marketplace.

"Although many of us (Caribbean tourist destinations) are competitors in the tourism industry we understand there is mutual benefit if we work together and share ideas about sustainability.

"As we've said repeatedly, sustainable development is an important issue for our Government."