On Friday, Nov. 3, the Ministry of Tourism held a ceremony celebrating the success of Saint Lucian students at two regional tourism competitions.
Alex Gustave of the Leon Hess Comprehensive School won the FCCA Essay Competition, while the CTO Youth Congress speech competition winner is Francis Alexander of the Choiseul Secondary School.
Alexander, on Friday, delivered a sample of his winning presentation.
“Saint Lucia Simply Beautiful is truly the gem of the Caribbean and while we have traditionally followed the brick and mortar model of accommodation today I present you with Rejuvenation Treetopia, a new and innovative concept in harmony with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, specifically goals number 8, 10 and 13.”
Francis Alexander, who is now named junior tourism minister of the CTO, took part in the National Tourism Public Speaking Competition sponsored by LUCELEC, preceding the regional event.
The Minister of Tourism Hon. Dominic Fedee was very gracious in his praise for all the participating students.
“I am most proud of all of your efforts and all of your accomplishments. Your victories are a tremendous symbol of the wealth and the talent that we have in Saint Lucia at the Secondary School level and how interested you are as young people in our fastest growing industry.”
Minister Fedee also urged the students to begin to see tourism as a career option or the possibility for entrepreneurship.
“A lot of people are of the view that incentives are only for big companies, but that is really far from the truth. If you have an attraction, if you have a small hotel, once you have more than six rooms you do qualify regardless of who you are. So it’s just for us to continue promoting this to tell people that they can get involved.”
During the ceremony which was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Tourism, certificates and cheques were presented to the winners, Alex Gustave and Francis Alexander, as well as FCCA poster competition finalists Alisha Louisy and Kaysanne Lennox of the St. Joseph’s Convent.
Certificates of Excellence in Tourism Education were also presented to the participants by the SLHTA.
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