Tourism Ministry wants culture change

“It is imperative that we strike a perfect balance, lest we destroy the very resources and assets that make us attractive to the tourists in the first place,” she said.

Delivering the main address on Wednesday at the “Junior Minister of Tourism Competition” in the Auditorium, Government Campus, Port of Spain, Cudjoe said that sustainable tourism should make optimum use of environmental resources, respect socio- cultural authenticity of the host communities and ensure long term viable economic operations to provide socio-economic benefits for stakeholders.

Students from sixteen schools across the country took part in the competition for the position as Junior Minister of Tourism for 2017/2018.

The competitors in their presentations shared ideas on how they will package and sell TT as a tourism product and destination, how they will go about sustainable tourism and how they will use tourism for job creation, poverty reduction, and as a means of diversification of the economy.

The Junior Minister of Tourism Competition, an initiative of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, began in 2000 but was only taken on board by Trinidad and Tobago last year.

However, Cudjoe said, “The Junior Minister of Tourism project is now a flagship project in the Ministry of Tourism and plays a major role in our sustainable tourism agenda.” She commended the outgoing Junior Minister, Manzanilla Secondary School student, La Quan Pearie, who won the first competition last year, and who during his tenure was instrumental in the formation of the first and only school tourism club in the country.

She also commended the principal, teachers and studentsof the school who promote tourism activities and engage in clean up campaigns without publicity