J’nae Brathwaite of Tobago has won the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Tourism Youth Congress which was staged at The Ritz-Carlton in the Cayman Islands on September 15.
In her winning presentation on Experiential Tourism, the 17-year-old Brathwaite articulately outlined three strategies which would help Tobago meet the growing demand of the millennials and Generation-X market.
A student of Signal Hill Secondary School, Brathwaite pointed to immersive museums, digital marketing of user-generated content and augmented reality tours as initiatives which could further market Tobago and enhance visitor experience.
“I’m still in a daze because I still can’t believe it. When I heard my name called as winner, I literally wanted to melt away,” said an emotional Brathwaite. “It was a lot, but I know that I put in a lot of hard work. I know that my teachers were continually there and my family was always supporting me regardless of the time and circumstance.”
Tobago’s Tourism and Culture Secretary, Tashia Burris said she was “absolutely elated” by her island’s success at the Youth Congress.
“We certainly see this as a demonstration that our programmes in the education system are working,” Burris said. “We are trying to invigorate our island post-COVID and one of the strategies we’re using is to really start with the young people and I’m happy to see this bear fruit.”
Seventeen-year-old Marika Baptiste of St Vincent and the Grenadines placed second while 16-year-old Kelvin Archer of the Bahamas was the third place finisher.
Prizes for the top three finishers were sponsored by Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa and the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.
