Syneja Richards – Tourism Award Winner
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
May 28, 2015 (SKNIS)
Syneja Richards of the Washington Archibald High School will represent St. Kitts as junior minister at the Regional Tourism Youth Congress in Curacao during this year’s Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) State of Industry Conference on October 21-23.
Syneja was afforded this opportunity by winning this year’s local Tourism Youth Congress competition held on May 22 at the St. Kitts Marriott Grand Ballroom.
Richards competed with three others including Brenisha Stevens of the Verchilds High School, Tekoyah Mason of the Saddlers Secondary School and Dottisha Taylor of the Charles E. Mills Secondary School in discussing issues of local importance.
The competition, which mirrors the CTO Board of Directors meeting, is aimed at giving young people an opportunity to discuss tourism issues as the head of government from their perspective. This creates greater awareness of related matters and encourages youth to be a part of sustainability efforts.
Minister of Tourism the Hon. Lindsay Grant stated that it is common knowledge that tourism is the main catalyst for growth and development in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“It is therefore imperative that our youth are educated about the industry and the opportunities that are available,” noted Minister Grant. “Getting our students involved in expressing their views and the various aspects of tourism development helps to increase their knowledge of tourism, their analytical skills and their ability to express their views logically and convincingly.”
The Minister also shared that it is hoped that through initiatives like these “our students will develop a greater and deeper appreciation for the tourism industry and will seriously consider careers in the field of tourism at all levels of the industry.”
Topics discussed included Greening Tourism Events which implies that each event will be developed and managed in a way that ensures the reduction of any potential negative environmental impacts and Film Induced Tourism which looks at ways to tap into the film induced tourism niche market and promote the Federation as an attractive and exciting destination for film producers, film investors and film tourists.