Junior Minister of Tourism Ms Kiara Meyers is presently representing St. Maarten at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Youth Tourism Congress in the Bahamas.
The event is part of this year’s State of Industry Conference, which is being held from October 1st – 5th. According to a release issued by Interim Director of the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB) May-Ling Chun, “This segment is structured to mirror the CTO Board of Directors’ Meeting.” The CTO’s Youth Congress is an annually held tourism conference involving students from within the Caribbean region between ages 14 and 17, geared towards creating awareness about tourism amongst the Caribbean youths.
The Youth Congress gives them opportunities to contribute by bringing forward their ideas and vision for the future of Caribbean tourism. Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication (TEATT) Stuart Johnson extended congratulations to Kiara and wished her success during her participation at the Youth Congress this week. As part of her tasks as Junior Minister of Tourism Kiara will be participating in various TEATT/STB activities together with Minister Johnson and STB Director Chun.
Chun said, “Students must come prepared to share their knowledge and views with their fellow Junior Ministers/Commissioners of Tourism on one prepared topic.” She said it is not a debating competition but a discussion among the Junior Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism, which generates practical ideas that can be implemented at the national/regional levels.
During this year’s congress, participants will also be asked to address a “mystery” topic. The students’ performances will be judged by experts in the field of tourism and hospitality.
“The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau would like to extend congratulations to Kiara on becoming Junior Minister of Tourism, and we wish her much success at the CTO’s Youth Tourism Congress,” said Chun.