St. Kitts Selects New Junior Minister of Tourism

The Tourism Youth Congress comprises of students between the ages of 14 to 17 discussing their vision for the future direction of tourism. Judges assess their ideas, and select a national Junior Minister of Tourism, who will represent St. Kitts at the Caribbean Tourism Youth Congress during the State Of The Tourism Industry Conference, which will be held in October in the Bahamas.

At the St. Kitts Tourism Youth Congress students from six participating high schools delivered captivating presentations on three topics: Virtual Reality and Tourism, Developing Smart and Sustainable Caribbean Countries and Years of Wellness and Rejuvenation—enhancing the tourism product.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Carlene Henry-Morton, the Tourism Youth Congress exposed students to the many benefits of the tourism industry.

She also mentioned the Tourism Education and Awareness programme that commenced with four schools in the 2016-2017 academic year, and had now expanded to six schools for the 2017-2018 academic year.

“The objectives are to inform students of the various careers in tourism, expose students to the tourism product and to teach them about tourism’s positive impact on the socio-economic development of St. Kitts.  We are ensuring that we foster the right environment that will a vibrant and dynamic service sector, where our people are competent in soft and customer service skills, and where repeat business will become the norm in our country.”

Allese Clarke of the Cayon High School placed third with a compelling presentation on how the destination could intrigue potential visitors via a virtual reality experience, which allow visitors to see the culinary, scenic and entertainment aspects of the destination.

Sponsors for this year’s competition included Boozies, Christophe Harbour Development, Marshall’s Restaurant, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Tourism, Ocean Terrace Inn, Serendipity, Shiggidy Shack, St.Kitts-Nevis and Anguilla National Bank, SKNIS, St. Kitts Tourism Authority, St.Kitts-Nevis Social Security and Timothy Beach Resort.