Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture, Hon. Porsha Stubbs-Smith recently traveled to New York City to attend CTO’s Caribbean Week; where the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College tourism team participated in the annual Student Colloquium.
The competition challenges students to present creative ideas for sustainable tourism projects or business initiatives in the Caribbean. Caribbean week is the largest and most effective event on the Caribbean calendar. It is a celebration of the sights, sounds and unique vacation experiences and business offerings that the region offers.
This year’s forum saw 4 countries battling for the championship with Turks and Caicos being victorious, bringing home the first place prize. St. Lucia came in at 2nd place, the Bahamas at 3rd and Jamaica with the 4th position. The team presented on the lionfish and its effects on the tourism industry, particularly the coral reefs. Students proposed that a lionfish festival would be an ideal event, to address the impact of these creatures.
Judges were very impressed with TCI’s performance stating “Whilst the presentation was an original, it is one that should garner the attention of the Caribbean Region.”
Minister Stubbs-Smith stated; “All teams were creative, passionate and represented their countries well, however, I must express a huge congratulations to team TCI, I am immensely proud of the job in which they’ve done and continue to look forward to our future participation in events such as these as we continue to bring recognition to the TCI.
“I’m also proud of the collaborative efforts between the Ministries of Tourism and Education, and the Tourist Board and the TCI Community College, when we all work together as a team anything can be accomplished.”
Minister Stubbs-Smith is accompanied by Permanent Secretary, Desiree Lewis, and Director of Tourism, Mr. Ralph Higgs. The delegation returns to TCI on Saturday, 6th June 2015.
