Winners announced for the 2021 NTG Competition in Wales

The Next Tourism Generation (NTG) competition invited young people from Wales with aspirations to work in tourism to come forward with their ideas for the future of the industry. Those winners were announced by BBC presenter Huw Stephens at the NTG 2021 virtual awards ceremony and skills symposium.

 

The competition, which is in its second year, was organized by the (NTG) project based at Cardiff Metropolitan University with PLANED and Tourism Society Cymru. Tourism industry leaders judged the competition entries from students, including those attending Bridgend College, Cardiff and Vale College, Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Coleg Llandrillo, Coleg Menai and Pembrokeshire College.

 

Attendees of the event enjoyed talks from competition sponsors, Marten Lewis, Bluestone National Park Resort on tourism and the environment; Rebecca Armstrong from Tourism Society Cymru on the sustainable future of the tourism industry in Wales; Iwan Thomas from PLANED on the role of Welsh communities in sustainable tourism; and Emily Roberts from M-SParc on the use of digital technology in tourism.

Entrants were asked to select 1 of the 4 award categories and respond to the question “What should the future of tourism in Wales look like? What skills and training will the next generation of tourism professionals need to support this sustainable development?”

• Ming Zhang from Cardiff Metropolitan University won the Tourism Industry and Infrastructure category, sponsored by Tourism Society Cymru.
• Jenna O’Brien from Coleg Menai won the Digital Tools and Technology category, sponsored by M-SParc.
• Siôn Nicholas Charles from Cardiff Metropolitan University won the Environment and Ecology category, sponsored by Bluestone Resort in Pembrokeshire.
• Martha Wilson from Pembrokeshire College won the award for Local Communities category sponsored by community support charity, PLANED.

The winner for each of the four categories won £250, whilst this year’s Digital category winner, Jenna O’Brien from Coleg Menai, was named as the Overall Winner of this year’s competition.

 

The Next Tourism Generation (NTG) project based at Cardiff Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Tourism Society Cymru and PLANED wish to thank all the judges and entrants. The NTG2021 competition was open to tourism and hospitality students, aged 16–25 working in the tourism sector in Wales including those furloughed and made redundant during the Covid pandemic.

 

Approximately 65 participants from industry and education in Wales attended as well as from NTG Alliance partners in the Netherlands and Spain who are interested in creating similar national competitions. On top of a successful competition campaign the social media engagement of this competition was incredibly successful (#NTG2021). Make sure to keep an eye on the NTG Events section of the website to you can stay tuned for the next NTG competition!