Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill, has underscored the importance of educating the island’s youth about tourism and the role it plays, so they can play their part in the future success and sustainability of the sector.
Minister Gooding-Edghill stressed this point while delivering remarks at the Junior Minister of Tourism and the inaugural Genealogy Competition awards ceremony, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, today.
He stated: “As you know for anything in life to evolve and prosper, young people must be actively engaged and involved…. As tourism recovers the world over from the pandemic, there is a recognition of the importance of youth in tourism, [and] as such, there is a concerted effort to promote youth empowerment, through offering education and training as well as access to decent jobs.”
The Tourism Minister believes that educating the youth about the importance of tourism, especially to the economy and the livelihoods of Barbadians, is critical. This, he asserted, can assist in creating awareness and excitement in young people as to how they can become change agents and develop new innovative ideas for the sector.
Mr. Gooding-Edghill pointed out that the Junior Minister of Tourism competition was one such avenue whereby youth can learn about tourism and also posit their ideas with respect to the future of the sector.
Persons winning the title of Junior Minister of Tourism are afforded the opportunity to be involved in tourism-related activities throughout the year and also to be part of the delegation attending the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) State of the Industry Conference. They can also represent the island at the Regional leg of the Caribbean Tourism Youth Congress.
The Minister challenged the CTO to create a mechanism/model that allows Ministries of Tourism across the Caribbean to work with youth in developing an innovation lab which would focus on expanding innovation in tourism through technology, an area in which youth are very knowledgeable.
“I am of the firm belief that digitalisation can improve resource management efficiency and sector competitiveness…. Utilising such a mechanism would assist in harnessing the intellectual and technological prowess of our young people.… It is also envisaged that this new mechanism would assist in creating new approaches, the introduction of new services, stimulate entrepreneurship and job opportunities,” Minister Gooding-Edghill indicated.
Speaking about the Genealogy competition, he pointed out that that competition created an exciting way to learn about one’s genealogy and ancestry.
He highlighted that heritage tourism was a niche market and Barbados was seeking to develop and enhance its product offerings in this area.
“Barbados is home to a cadre of heritage monuments, cultural and natural historical resources. The integration of these resources must be fully operationalised through effective promotion…,” Minister Gooding-Edghill stated.
Meanwhile, BTMI’s Chief Product Development Officer, Marsha Alleyne, stressed that the department is and will continue to enhance its engagement with the youth to secure the future of the sector.
She said: “Youth development from the product development perspective is one of our key planks with which we continue to innovate, create, and drive new programmes to ensure we educate and rebuild awareness around the tourism sector.”
Both Minister and Ms. Alleyne congratulated all those who participated and commended the winners for their efforts and wished them success in their future endeavours.