'The future is now'

KINNESHA GEORGE-HARRY

Tobago joined the nation and the international community in the observance of World Tourism Day on Friday, as officials from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation hosted a series of activities aimed at engaging and educating students and members of the public.

In commemoration of the annual observance, the day’s activities commenced with a community awareness school caravan. The caravan visited Scarborough Secondary School, Signal Hill Government Primary School, Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation High School, Pembroke Anglican School and Goodwood Secondary School.

Speaking with Newsday at the Signal Hill Government Primary School, the tourism division’s executive assistant, Sandra Orr, said the international theme for this year’s celebration is "Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future for All" and seeks to highlight the many employment and entrepreneurial opportunities within the sector and its role in advancing societies.

She said, “When we look at this theme, we think that the future is now. The important thing is about people seeing opportunities in tourism and to be able to capitalise on those opportunities… You have to create that future for yourself and that is what we really want to get out there to continue to create the awareness through our education and tourism awareness programmes, and this tourism day celebration is part of that."

She said the schools for the caravan were chosen at random and continues their strong presence there.

“We are doing programmes throughout all schools in Tobago. We have been working along with the schools for years; primary schools, we always had a primary school programme where we do an annual school quiz, we do a summer programme and we also do career initiatives throughout the year; for secondary schools, we have a secondary school programme and the need for that was really to educate students on the significance of tourism to generate interest to let them develop an appreciation for tourism, because we all know that tourism is the backbone of our economy here in Tobago.”

She said adding there are vibrant tourism youth clubs throughout schools on the island.

“We have partnered with other industry stakeholders: the Tourism Oriented Police Unit, the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute along with other industry stakeholders. We cannot function alone; if we are serious about tourism, there has to be a collaborative approach and that is why we have collaborated with our industry partners to have this celebration.”

The caravan also featured local gospel artiste Jaron Nurse.

“Jaron is an inspiration; he’s a good role model, he has been visiting schools in Trinidad so we felt that it would have given value to our programme to include him. When the schools in Tobago heard about Jaron Nurse coming, every school was excited and just ready to go.”

Orr said Junior Secretary of Tourism Kayleigh Lewis of Scarborough Secondary, who will be representing Tobago in Antigua and Barbuda at the Regional Tourism Youth Congress, during October 2 to 5, also joined the caravan.

Tourism information booths were also stationed at the Port Mall in Scarborough and the ANR Robinson International Airport, giving industry partners the opportunity to share information on their contributions to the island’s tourism industry as well as possible careers within the field.

“We would have also placed advertorials in all the newspapers by our Secretary Councillor Nadine Stewart-Phillips, she would have given an official message in commemoration of World Tourism Day. Three of our officers would have done media tours outlining about World Tourism Day and outlining about World Tourism Day and some of the achievements of the division.”