The Ministry of Tourism has awarded the students from secondary institutions across the country who participated in the National Tourism Youth Congress recently.

These students, eight of them, were awarded for their outstanding performance on Monday.

They are Akemi Ducreay, Savio Williams, Nathan Smith, Ti-ikha Edwards, Neilisha Maragh, Amelia Bloodman, N’Zae Williams, and Manya Simon.

They participated in the speech competition at this year’s National Youth Congress which is structured to mirror the Caribbean Tourism Organization Board of Director’s meeting.

Ti-ikha Edwards the 2022 Junior Tourism Minister received a laptop while the other participants each received a tablet sponsored by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority.

Manager of the Tourism Education, Training and Awareness unit Tracey Browne, said she is proud of all of the participants for their outstanding performance at the national competition.  

“The theme this year was Tourism Through the Eyes of Tomorrow…you are the future of our tourism industry, and we are happy that you all dared to share your ideas and hope that this experience would have sparked your interest in the industry”, Browne said.  

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Charles Max Fernandez tourism is the engine of growth for our economy and we need to have our best minds at the helm.

 “I am very certain that all of you have the potential to become a tourism ministers in the future. You have already been involved and the reason you are here today is that the tourism industry has piqued your interest. I applaud you all for taking that bold step to be a part of this speech competition and I want to encourage you to keep striving for excellence as nothing is holding you back from reaching the top. Congratulations to all of you!”, Fernandez said.

Operations Manager of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority Javier Jacobs, encouraged the participants to continue on the path they are on as they have a bright future ahead of them.

“Your professionalism and innovative presentations are a testament to that bright future, the Ministry of Tourism and The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority will always be here to support you and we are committed to your success and development”, Jacobs said.   

The winner of this year’s National Tourism Youth Congress, Ti-ikha Edwards represented Antigua and Barbuda at the recently concluded Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Regional Youth Congress in the Cayman Islands.

This competition is an integral part of CTO’s annual tourism conference which provides a forum for students between the ages of 14 to 17 to share their ideas about the future direction of Caribbean Tourism.